Fado is a music genre which can be traced to the 1820s in Portugal. The only reliable information on the history of Fado was orally transmitted and goes back to the 1820s and 1830s at best. In popular belief, fado is a form of music characterized by mournful tunes and lyrics, often about the sea or the life of the poor, and infused with a characteristic sentiment of resignation, fatefulness and melancholia.