The influence of Cape Verde’s cultural heritage on its Diaspora

Maritsa Barros is a young woman on a mission. Her goal is to make the world a better place for women.

But Maritsa is no ordinary young woman. While she’s interested in fashion like many women her age, her interest lies in starting a business in this arena in order to mentor young women and serve as a role model.

Maritsa has already started on her career path. She is an instructor at Barbizon, a top American agency for modeling, acting and self-development. Maritsa teaches all three disciplines to women from 14 through 19 years old. Maritsa wants to be a positive influence to enlighten young women to be confident, have self-respect and self-esteem, which are important characteristics for future success. She instills in her students a sense of purpose yet shows them that they can also be compassionate.

Maritsa was born in America to Cape Verdean immigrant parents who raised her as one of twelve kids in the strict tradition of Cape Verdean parenting. The first language she learned was Kriolu. She formally learned English as a student in school. At such a young age, Maritsa experienced a bit of a cultural identity crisis, as you could well imagine, given the cross-cultural blend of American and Cape Verdean values. She was unsure which culture to adopt. Yet, this was a very important part of who Maritsa has become today – as she matured, she took the best lessons of each culture and found a very happy medium between both cultures in her day-to-day life and her values.

The most beautiful woman in the world!

The title of Miss Universe 2011 was won on Tuesday, September 12th, by Leila Lopes of Benguela, Angola, who became the first Angolan ever to win the title.

The stunning 25-year old beauty queen is a business major in London (now the luckiest city on the planet!) This modest lady believes that her smile is her best weapon.

In answer to one question that was asked of her, she said this: "Thank God I'm very satisfied with the way God created me and I wouldn't change a thing," Lopes said. "I consider myself a woman endowed with inner beauty. I have acquired many wonderful principles from my family and I intend to follow these for the rest of my life."

And one of those wonderful principles is helping those less fortunate than herself.  She works with poor kids in Angola and wants to focus on the fight against HIV around the globe.

So what does any of this have to do with Cape Verde? Well, Leila was born in Angola to parents from Cape Verde! So her heritage is Cape Verdean. In fact, Angola, is a popular destination for Cape Verdean immigrants because of its proximity and because they fit right in with the Angolans who also speak Portuguese and have a similar culture based on their common blend of African and European roots.

Cape Verdean youth ... what are they like?

One important indicator of any nation is the state of its youth. If you are a visitor to the Cape Verde islands and are wondering what the nations young people are like - either because you are thinking of visiting, working or living in Cape Verde, the video below will give you a very good idea, or you are just curious. It shows that Cape Verde's youth are, in some ways, typical of youth everywhere. They enjoy much of the same things that young people everywhere enjoy. But in other important ways, they may be different that youngsters in other more developed nations. As you can see in the video, they are more respectful and welcoming of other cultures than you may find in other places in the world. This is evidence of the Cape Verdean morabezza or hospitality at work.

If a country's future is measured by the example of its young people, then Cape Verde has a very bright future ahead of it.

Respect for the women of Cape Verde

Today, I thought I would speak a little bit about a topic that is not really discussed among Cape Verdeans, and that is "assedio sexual" or sexual harassment, especially in the workplace. That is not to say that this issue is not a problem elsewhere in the world. But it is especially important that Cape Verdean men pay close attention to this issue.

Cape Verde is a rising star among lesser developed third world countries. As the country grows via local and foreign investments, especially in tourism, the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace and the related issue of domestic abuse and violence towards women, all of its citizens should be able to fully participate in the uplifting of the country.

There are several key impacts that the men of Cape Verde must consider: