Censorship - The Taming Of The Fado

The Military Dictatorship put an end to freedom of expression. The decree of 6th May 1927 regulated where public performances could be held. There were obligatory licences for performers  and control over the contents of the songs. The first 'Fado Houses' were created.
It was no longer possible to sing subversive lyrics, whether political or moral, and in the new establishments the general public was excluded and the audience was selected quite strictly. The Fado was sanitized and professionalized.
From 1927 the Fado could only be performed by a singer with a professional licence issued by the General Inspectorate of Theatres and which could be withdrawn at any moment. It was no longer possible to sing without express permission.
It was not a case of being able to sing what was not prohibited, but a case of only being able to sing what was authorized. The artist had to submit to the Inspectors a folder which contained the lyrics that he was going to sing, the name of  the author of these lyrics, indeed, the entire repertory of the songwriter and the singer. Then the folder was stamped 'Approved' or 'Prohibited'.
From 1927 onwards, any policeman or Inspector could enter a Fado House and ask to see the folder to check that the lyrics had been properly authorized. With a network of informers and spies and strong political control, few artists risked ignoring the new rules. It was a massive change.  Any text with a satirical slant or with incisive political or social comment was totally out of bounds, and in the formal atmosphere of the new Houses an end was put to the traditional social homogeneity of singer and audience.
In the new Houses the only common people were the waiters and the singers. The singers originated in the common people. Now those who sang well would turn professional. They would sing for people from a different social class, not from their own community.
 Out of the organized professional circuit existing control became even tighter. Gatherings of the common people continued, but were always at risk of being visited by the police, or of being denounced by an informer.