Her favorite singer is Mariza, a deep-throated diva with a dramatic stage presence: "She's modern; she's inviting. Her music relates to my life. She has very happy music," said Marques, flicking through CDs in a Lisbon music store.

The melancholy songs of fado were first performed in the taverns and brothels of mid 19th century Portugal. A century later, a rightist dictatorship censored the lyrics of the Fado performers -- the "fadistas."

But fado is no longer sad, and certainly not restricted, fans say.

"I think the new fadistas sing what they feel, and our society, our emotions, our life is totally different from 50 years ago," said 22-year-old fadista Joana Amendoeira.

The Portuguese folk music is undergoing a renaissance fuelled by youthful singers who are embracing tradition but with a more upbeat attitude, fostered by better education, economic progress and multiculturalism.

"The people singing fado now are young, they're beautiful, they're modern. They've brought a new attitude toward fado for people my age," said Catarina Gomes, a 29-year-old journalist at the daily newspaper Publico.

Fado, which means "fate" in Portuguese, has embodied the fatalism of Portugal for 200 years.It features a 12-string Portuguese guitar, a classical acoustic guitar and often a bass guitar, with a vocalist singing metrical poetry.

Its origins are believed to be Arabic ballads or nostalgic songs from Portuguese ships bound for Brazil.

Originally considered music for the working class, fado was co-opted by dictator Antonio Salazar in a nationalist sweep. Its popularity plummeted in a backlash after a 1974 leftist revolution ousted Salazar's half-century rule.

"Now it is possible to listen to fado without thinking of fascism," said Mark Halpern, author of "The Future of Saudade: The new fado and the new fadistas."

AMALIA TO MARIZA

Fadistas have been flooding the market. About two dozen new fado singers have surfaced recently, 16 in 2001 alone, Halpern said.

Sales of fado recordings have also grown exponentially since the late 1990s, according to industry data provided by the Portuguese Phonographic Association (PPA).

While only one fado artist sold more than 10,000 CDs in 1998, at least five or six fado recordings sold that many or more in 2003, the PPA statistics of Portugal sales show.

In 2001, Mariza's "Fado em Mim" CD went triple platinum and her "Fado Curvo" reached No. 6 on the Billboard World Music chart in 2003.

With her close-cropped blonde waved hair and elegant dresses, Mariza has become an international star, winning several European music awards and performing a duet with Sting for the Olympic Games album last year.

Other big names are Misia, Cristina Branco, Mafaulda Arnauth and male singers Camane and Paulo Braganca.

The queen of fado is Amalia Rodrigues, known just as "Amalia." She popularised the music in its golden era from the 1930s through the 1950s.

Amalia sang the words of famous poets, of whom there are many in poetry-loving Portugal.Many newer fado artists write their own lyrics, use new instruments, set old lyrics to electronic music and fuse with other styles.

Younger fans are also attracted to the optimistic twist new wave fado gives to the traditional Portuguese concept of "saudade," which means nostalgia, longing and yearning.

"Portuguese people, in general, believe in a cruel destiny," Halpern said. "But many of this generation do not agree."

Fado fan Catarina Gomes concurs.

"I don't like the sad, cheesy fado. That's the past," she said. "These new fadistas talk about simple things sometimes, but they make you feel good about being Portuguese. It's no longer depressing to hear fado."

-Elinor Mills