But for Mariza, who performs and records under her first name, fado is vibrantly alive, and lots of people are starting to agree with her. Her second album, "Curvo" (Times Square Records), has been a runaway hit in Portugal. She has spent the past two years touring internationally, winning fans at music festivals across Europe and North America with her passionate renditions of songs about loss, pain and longing, fado's traditional themes.

"When I was a teenager, my friends would ask me what I did in my free time, and I'd tell them I sing fado and they'd say, `What? But that is for old people!,' " said Mariza, 29, who makes her San Diego debut tonight at Humphrey's as the opening act for Argentine tenor saxophonist Gato Barbieri. "At that time, I never had the idea that we had other types of music. For me, having fado was like a brother or sister. It's my way of living, a second skin, a way of breathing.

Growing up in Lisbon's Mouraria neighborhood, a bastion of traditionalism, Mariza was weaned on fado. Her parents ran a restaurant that featured frequent fado performances, and she started singing at the age of 5, gaining the nickname "The Little Bird." While steeped in tradition, she is not beholden to it. For "Curvo" she collected poetry by contemporary Portuguese writers and had the pieces set to music.

With its blend of Portuguese folk poetry, Arabic cadences and African and Brazilian rhythms, fado, which means fate or destiny, was an unintended harvest from Portugal's far-flung empire. When fado started taking shape in the mid-1800s on Lisbon's hardscrabble waterfront, Portugal had been in decline for centuries and the music's themes often reflected the forlorn but defiant outlook of a people whose poverty forced many young men to emigrate.

Over the years, the music became a ritualized form of emotional release, and it has thrived for generations in Lisbon's fado houses, nightclubs where people gather to hear vocalists perform the haunting songs, which have often been compared to the blues. For decades, the music was personified by the great fado diva Amalia Rodrigues, who died at the age of 79 in 1999. Mariza is the most charismatic singer among talented young fadistas, including Misia and Cristina Branco, who are revitalizing the traditional art form.

In performance, Mariza is a captivating presence, with her close- cropped blond hair, swanlike neck and glorious belle epoque gowns. While fado singers traditionally stand motionless as they sing, Mariza stalks the stage looking like an apparition from a past era. She credits two friends, a fashion designer and a hair stylist, for helping her create the dramatic look that at first shocked audiences at fado houses. Now she and her music have been embraced for capturing the emotional essence of the music with her gorgeous, full- throated voice and commanding stage presence.

"When you go to a very special occasion and you put on your best clothes and you go very fancy, but in your style, that's what I do," Mariza said. "For me, when I go to the States, it's a very special occasion. I'm going to receive my friends, and I'm going to sing, something I love. I'm not a very pretty woman, but I like to be pretty on stage. And I do it with my style."