Cape Verde's musical ambassadors

Suzanna Lubrano

Music is the universal language. There are as many dialects of music as there are countries; probably more since some countries practice several dialects of music. And each country has its "ambassadors" of music - those individuals who bring a country's music to the world; in the same manner that you might think of Bob Marley as Jamaica's musical ambassador.

Cape Verde has several such ambassadors. Most music fans around the world may recognize the music of Cape Verde through its eldest musical stateswoman, Cesaria Evora, the country's first Grammy Award winner. The musical style she croons is called Morna. There is a haunting beauty in these melancholic songs. The music is meant to be romantic or even philosophical. It is fitting for the background of a romantic candle-lit dinner.

Cape Verdeans emigrants play morna when they experience sodade or nostalgia. Listen to the videos below of Cesaria and of Lura, a talented cantadora born in Portugal of Cape Verdean parents. You'll probably be in tears before either song is done!

The creation of a tourism brand

It should be no secret by now, assuming you've read the rest of the blog. Tourist visits to Cape Verde have been growing at double digit pace over the last decade. In 2010, over 400,000 visitors came to Cape Verde for a vacation, primarily from Europe.

Cape Verde has even been highlighted in Conde Naste Traveler, USA Today Travel, Lonely Planet and other travel magazines as a desirable vacation destination. Lonely Planet, a British publication, awarded Cape Verde the number 3 spot on its Best in Travel 2011 guide. And the French association of tour operators, CETO, indicated that the number of French visitors to Cape Verde doubled in the winter period 2010-2011.

Cape Verde is building its brand. And every brand needs an official logo. So a competition was held from March 25 to May 7 in 2010. There were 151 competitive entries and the image you see at the head of this article was the winning entry. The winning logo was created by Rafael Fernandes, a professional architect, who practices his trade on the island of Santiago.

Speaking of art and artists ...

Speaking of art and artists, I'd be remiss if I failed to mention some of the talent from the island of Sao Vicente, the "cultural capital" of the archipelago. In particular, I'm going to focus on two of the artists although there are many examples throughout Cape Verde.

First, Edith Borges. Her talent began in her early years as a child. Later in high school, she began to work with water colors. Her friends recall her as the student who loved to draw and paint; she would give her creations to her classmates as gifts when she was finished with them. She later received a scholarship to study in the then Soviet Union. She earned a Master's degree in Fine Arts from the Moscow Institute of Fine Arts. Her studio is now located in the distant city of Malmo, Sweden, but her heart and her paintings exude only the morabezza of her native land.

Next, is a talent who has remained completely local, was educated in Sao Vicente and plies his trade there. His name is Severo. I don't know much detail about the artist's life story. But I do know that he lives a humble life and goes unrecognized by the outside world. But you should take the time to discover his talent. You can find a large number of his works displayed at the beautiful Santantao Art Resort in the island of Santo Antao ... the hotel lobby is covered with his remarkable paintings. And if you'd like custom work done, this is the man who will paint the walls and ceiling of the foyer of your home or apartment in Cape Verde.

Cabo Verde International Film Festival 2011

This year, 2011, is the second year for the Cape Verde International Film Festival taking place on the island of Sal, October 13-16. Here is a sample from last year's festival.


CVIFF Workshop Video 2010 from CVIFF on Vimeo.

The master-mind behind the festival is the talented executive producer, Suely Ramos Neves, partner at V!VA Imagens. Suely tells me that the festival is an excellent platform "to bring together Art, Cinema, and Industry; the program for 2011 promises creativity and entertainment through submitted films, special film screenings, the art of cinema workshops, cultural activities, comedy, improvised theater and much more."

You can also find more about the Film Festival on its Facebook page.

There is a lot of creative and artistic talent in "dem dere" islands ... so be there or be square!

Some Kind of Funny Porto Rican?

The first time you meet someone of Cape Verdean ancestry, you may be forgiven for holding this mental image due to the common African and European roots which leads to an external resemblance between some people of the two islands. But these two islands are otherwise figuratively and literally worlds apart in terms of their history and culture, and the experience of their emigrant communities in America.

No one knows this better that Claire Andrade-Watkins, Associate Professor of Visual & Media Arts at Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Ms. Adrade-Watson is a second generation Cape Verdean-American and film-maker. She directed and produced the critically acclaimed documentary, "Some Kind of Funny Porto Rican: A Cape Verdean American Story (2006)" that tells the story of the displacement of the Cape Verdean community in Providence, Rhode Island in the 1960s due to urban renewal and gentrification.

Picking up where the previous documentary left off, Ms. Andrade-Watkins is in the post-production phase of a second highly anticipated documentary, "Atlantic Portals," the second in a planned trilogy and will be introduced at the Cabo Verde International Film Festival, October 13-16, on the Island of Sal. in Cape Verde. Be sure to check out the link to the film festival.