Global Voices » Cape Verde

Cape Verde: Encouraging Storytelling and Creative Writing

Georgi McCarthy — Fri, 18 May 2012 09:36:58 +0000

[All links lead to sites in Portuguese.]

Set over the course of seven weeks, a creative writing competition promoted by the young Cape Verdean journalist Odair Varela on his blog, Crioulo n'Descontra, has led a dozen word lovers from three different continents to get behind their keyboards and let their imaginations flow.

The competition was launched at the end of March [en] to “promote a taste for writing and for linguistic and artistic evolution”. Odair suggested a set of four challenges; the responses, written in either poetry or prose, were published on his blog.

On 9th May the winners were announced, determined by counting the number of views their texts had received. This article will provide an overview of the stories told.

What will Cape Verde be like in 2090?

In the first challenge, competitors were asked to imagine possible routes for Cape Verde in terms of sustainable development, energy, environment and climate change. Anete Carvalho wrote ‘País Museu‘ (Museum Country), José Soares posted a poem, ‘Verdes eram as ilhas‘, (The Islands were Green), and ‘Retrospectiva 2012-2090‘ (2012-2090: Retrospective) was written by Silvianne Spencer. The piece with the most views was a poem written by Suruk Rodrigues:

Men of the Atlantic. Photo by Martin Edstrom copyright Demotix (27/07/2008).

Constrói-se uma terra de betão.
E do sonho cultivado, colhe-se desilusão!
Que caia chuva, para transbordar apenas
barragens cheias de lágrimas dos que choram em vão!

A land is built from concrete.
And from the dream grown, disappointment is harvested!
Let the rain fall, and allow the reservoirs
filled with the tears of those who cry in vain to overflow!

Different approaches to tourism were also portrayed in several texts, such as that of Letícia Varela, written in Galician and entitled ‘Relógio do Tempo‘ (Time Clock). The possible extinction of Cape Verdean Creole was alluded to in the pieces by Nani Delgado, ‘Não Vou Ficar‘ (I Will Not Stay), and by Ary Rodrigues, ‘Um Povo Sempre Escravo‘ (A Nation Forever A Slave), which also talks about the country's economic growth and the influences of China.

Carla Gonçalves tells the story of an anthropologist and researcher who, in 2090, finds the book ‘A Morabeza das Ilhas Crioulas' (The Morabeza of the Creole Islands), which has a “clear cover that features stunningly beautiful white dunes; beautiful moraines and flowers with mountains towering in the background”, causing him to search for the meaning of “morabeza”. He travels to the islands; when he arrives, however, the last remaining inhabitant says ‘Não há mais Cabo Verde‘ (Cape Verde is no more):

Eis que Nhô Chico lhe responde num inglês rudimentar: Morabeza era a nossa essência, a música, a saudade. Morabeza eram as nossas crioulas, uma diferente da outra, mas todas únicas. Morabeza eram as nossas praias de areias brancas e negras, as montanhas fortes e imponentes, a simpatia e acolhimento. Morabeza eram as flores, a diversidade cultural, a dança. Morabeza era aquilo que nos distinguia, que nos fazia únicos. Mas isso acabou e não há mais aquele Cabo Verde…

Nho Chico spoke to him in broken English: Morabeza meant our essence, our music, our desires. Morabeza meant our creole women, each one different from the others, all unique. Morabeza meant our beaches covered in black and white sands, our strong, imposing mountains, our friendliness and hospitality. Morabeza meant flowers, cultural diversity, dance. Morabeza was what distinguished us, what made us unique. But now it's over and Cape Verde is no more…

Murder and escape

Dolls from Cape Verde. Photo by Wanaku on Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

“Someone has to be killed, and that's your task”, states the second challenge, which encourages the use of fast-paced prose to deliver crime, action and lots of gore.

From the boss murdered by an indignant ex-employee, the beautiful brunette who succumbed to the poison of a Loxosceles anomala spider, the ‘Grande Mistério da Boneca Assassina‘ (The Mystery of the Murdered Doll), to the crime of passion and the classic butler mystery, but there was still room for a coup d'état from the revolutionaries, and for the introduction of the movement of the “indignados” in Cape Verde, as Suruk Rodrigues wrote in the story of Zeca:

Zeca sofria com perseguição política dos novos tempos, que poucos entendem, ou seja, na rua era bandido, na escola era drogado, e não conseguia bolsas de estudo, estágio, trabalho ou coisa melhor. Arquitectou com genialidade o movimento dos indignados de Soncent com sede e acção no Mindelo, que no mês de Julho de 2012 vinha a ocupar as manchetes dos jornais neoliberais numa dura perseguição aos “fascistas” e entre eles o pai da sua amada.

Zeca suffered from a newfound political persecution, which few understood. In other words, he was a criminal in the street, a drug addict in school, and he couldn't get scholarships, an internship, work or anything better. He had the brilliant idea of starting the movement of the outraged of Soncent, based in Mindelo. In July 2012 he came to be in the headlines of neoliberal newspapers in a stringent persecution of “fascists”: among them, the father of his beloved.

He ends up being stabbed in the back by his future father-in-law in a public square, in full view of everyone.

Who killed Eva?

More crime to inspire the authors, but this time the challenge profiles the suspects of the murder of Eva Sequeira, a fifty-something-year-old wealthy widow who was found dead in her mansion.

Everyday life in Cape Verde. Photo by Nuno Lobito copyright Demotix (12/02/2008)

The suspects include “Eva's stepdaughter, who she never got on well with”, the “retired doctor who had been in love with Eva since childhood (although it was never reciprocated)”, the “young, good-looking stranger”, the “butler's son who was devoted to Cármen [the stepdaughter]”, and Eva's best friend:

No final do interrogatório, o investigador Nataniel Borges prendeu dois suspeitos sob acusação de cumplicidade na morte da senhora Eva Sequeira. Quem foi para a cadeia? Quais os motivos que os levaram a cometer tão horrendo crime?

At the end of the interrogations Detective Nataniel Borges arrested two suspects on the grounds of involvement in Eva Sequeira's murder. Who was sent to jail? What forced them to commit such a horrendous crime?

The story with the most views, written by Margareth Lima, blamed Eva's best friend for committing a crime of passion:

…eu amei aquela vadia desde o dia em que a conheci. Sofria cada vez que a via com outro, meu único conforto era a existência de outra pessoa que ela ignorava o amor. E justo quando ganho coragem e me declaro ela pede desculpas dizendo que só me queria como amiga. Queria ficar com esse imbecil [o médico aposentado], porque era seu Adão. Mereceu morrer sem disfrutar do seu Adão.

I loved that bitch from the day I met her. I couldn't bear seeing her with other people. My only comfort was the existence of another person whose love she ignored. And just when I plucked up the courage to admit my love for her, she apologised saying she just wanted to be friends. She wanted to stay with that prick [the retired doctor] because he was her Adam. She deserved to die without enjoying her Adam.

Three days and a farewell

What would you do if you were told that you had only three days left to live?

The repentence of someone who only ever knew how to be “a vile executioner, an opportunist and often sadistic for power”: he is taken door to door to visit those he owes apologies to for his behaviour in life.

A woman from Santo Antão. Photo by Julien Lagarde on Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

The “poet“, in “Quando fui morrer” (When I went to Die), “[she hurried] to condense [her] life for her family and closest friends” in an all-night celebration.

Vanda wanted to fulfil the dream she had beyond her Creole life: to see the snow. She ends up in the Swiss Alps with her eyes closed, a smile on her lips and a heart full to bursting.

While the “bride“ decided to block all social networking sites before she died (”I never liked the idea of seeing dead people on Facebook.”), Vitoria, the character in Bolivian Margareth Lima's winning piece, took advantage of the social network to arrange a huge birthday and farewell party with “family, former classmates, teachers, workmates, friends, and even enemies”. She was the only one who had a reversible death, as at the end of the story we find out that the results of the medical tests were not in fact hers.

And thus ended the first creative writing competition launched exclusively by a blog and promoted through Facebook, sowing the seeds for “changes in writing habits and routines that can put down their roots and become even more developed with the passage of time”.

Brazil: “Kilombos”, Stories of Slaves Bridging Three Continents

Eleanor Staniforth — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 14:26:29 +0000

A few days after the Brazilian government suspended for five months the reinstatement of ownership requested by the Brazilian Navy of the land of the Quilombo Rio dos Macacos in Bahia - one of the oldest communities of slave descendants in Brazil, inhabited by around 75 families [pt] -, on the other side of the Atlantic, in Lisbon, the international conference “The Passage of the Quilombos: from Africa to Brazil and the return to origins” [pt] was held at the beginning of March. This meeting saw the release of the documentary Kilombos, produced by the Portuguese journalist Paulo Nuno Vicente, and described [pt] by him on the website ‘Buala' as “a rescue film about the Quilombos of Brazil”, which “transports us through the oral history of the African roots of the Quilombo communities, showing the intersection of these roots with contemporary cultural practices”.

O sentido de pertença a uma identidade extravasa a fronteira do medo. Ser quilombola é estar para lá do lugar. Uma imagem perdura para lá do que representa. «Kilombos» é uma tentativa de cartografia antropológica para os antagonismos do Brasil contemporâneo, metonímia oral do globalizante e do ancestral em fluxo.

The sense of belonging to an identity breaks down the barriers put up by fear. Being ‘Quilombola' goes beyond place. An image lasts beyond that which it represents. ‘Kilombos' is an attempt to trace an anthropological cartography of the frictions within contemporary Brazil, that is to say, of globalising forces on the one hand, and ancestral traditions in flux on the other.

31.3% of African slaves were transported to Brazil. Photo by Hollywoodsmille78 on Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

The documentary, filmed mainly in the Brazilian state of Maranhão, but also in Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau, forms part of a triannual project[pt] promoted by the Portuguese NGO Instituto Marquês Vale de Flor (IMVF), in partnership with local organisations:

A escolha destes três países reside no seu passado histórico comum. Os navios que transportavam a mão-de-obra escrava vinda da costa africana rumo ao Brasil fazia a sua primeira paragem em Cabo-Verde. Esta rota marítima, que ligou os três territórios há mais de quatro séculos, deixou marcas ainda hoje visíveis. Estes navios não transportavam para o Brasil apenas homens e mulheres africanos, transportavam igualmente tradições, crenças e costumes, ainda hoje respeitados e praticados nos três países.

The choice of these three countries lies in their common historical past. The ships which transported the slave labour force from the African coast to Brazil used to make their first stopover in Cape Verde. This maritime route which linked the three territories more than four centuries ago has left marks which are still visible today. These ships didn't just transport African men and women to Brazil. They also transported traditions, beliefs and customs, which are still respected and practised in our three countries to this day.

Since Cape Verde was populated by Portuguese settlers in the second half of the 15th century, the islands have served as “a turntable for the slave trade between Africa and America”, says José Semedo, from Praia, in an interview [pt] for the documentary ‘Kilombos'. “According to data from that time, half of the African slaves who arrived in Maranhão between 1774 and 1799 were taken from Guinea-Bissau”, notes[pt] Eduardo Mello, from the blog Jovens Diplomatas (Young Diplomats), in a text which gives his impressions on the return of the Quilombolas to their origins in Cacheu three centuries later, funded now by the IMVF project.

Quilombo Santa Joana - interview with João Baptista. Image captured from the documentary Kilombos.

“We witness and suffer the black holocaust”, comments[pt] Mello on the celebration at Cacheu, in which a play was staged depicting the trafficking of slaves in the 17th century, protagonised by descendants of African slaves themselves, the members of Quilombo communities in Maranhão - “in the horror of the ships, about to transform America and Brazil, they sang. They wept”:

Perto da sagrada Floresta de Cobiana, uma multidão celebra o reencontro com os retornados, que a cada frase, receita, som ou expressão, redescobrem origens e destinos. Hoje, a cidade está decorada com instrumentos musicais, artesanato, frutas, e histórias em comum. O cuxá, prato maranhense, é idêntico ao “baguitche” guineense – mas a etnia mandinga sempre chamou de cuxá mesmo. A noite começa a banhar em prata o caudaloso Rio Cacheu. As apresentações das etnias guineenses misturam-se às dos quilombolas brasileiros, à voz de Eneida Marta, e aos discursos. (…) Os grupos cantam, dançam, sobem em árvores, celebram o estranhamento de parentes separados pelos séculos. A matriz é guineense, mas muito mudou: nosso canto não é da e pra terra, é de procissão; o compasso marcado de cada etnia mestiçou-se, no Brasil, com a percussão de inúmeros outros povos do continente africano, no caldeirão dos entrudos (ou “N’tturudu”, como se diz aqui).

Near the sacred Cobiana Forest, a crowd celebrates being reunited with the returnees, who with each phrase, recipe, sound or expression, rediscover origins and destinations. Today, the city is decorated with musical instruments, handicrafts, fruit, and common stories. The ‘cuxá' dish from Maranhão is identical to the Guinean ‘baguitche' - although the Mandinga tribe have always called it ‘cuxá'. Nightfall begins to bathe the fast-flowing River Cacheu in silver light. The performances of the Guineans merge with those of the Brazilian Quilombolas, the voice of Eneida Marta, and the speeches. (…) The groups sing, dance, climb trees, celebrate the strangeness of discovering relatives separated by the centuries. The matrix is Guinean, but a lot has changed: our songs are not for and about the earth, they are processional; the beat kept by each ethnic group has intermixed in Brazil with the percussion of numerous other peoples of the African continent, in the cauldron of the carnival-goers (or “N’tturudu”, as they say here).

“The history of the Quilombos is one of liberty and dignity”

Screenshot of the documentary Kilombos.

As Mello says, “a lot has changed” in the identity of this culture which, in the words [pt] of the producer of ‘Kilombos', “crosses borders and brings continents closer together”. However, and returning to the Quilombo Rio dos Macacos mentioned in the opening paragraph of this article, the current struggle of the Quilombolas has shown that there is also a certain continuity in the violation of the human rights of these communities, such as the right to land. Alan Tygel, from Vírus Planetário [Planetary Virus], draws a historical parallel, and speaks of “modern practices” [pt] which transport us once again on a journey between times and territories:

O sol já vai se pondo, e os escravos aproveitam o fim de tarde na senzala para descansar da jornada extenuante. O trabalho no engenho de cana é duro. Açoitados, acorrentados, longe da terra natal, separados de suas famílias, os negros ainda assim jogam capoeira e cultuam seus orixás. Nesse mesmo dia, houve duas fugas na fazenda: Zé Preto tentou sair por trás das amendoeiras de baixo. Almeida, o capitão-do-mato, não teve muita dificuldade: o negro não tinha mais forças, fugiu por desespero. As chibatadas que levou ali mesmo, no mato, foram suficientes para encerrar seu sofrimento e levá-lo para a outra vida. Gangá não teve a mesma sorte: foi para o tronco, e deve ficar lá por dias. Para todo mundo saber o que acontece com escravo fujão. Num lugar não muito distante dali, cerca de 300 anos depois, a situação não mudou muito. Para os moradores do Quilombo Rio dos Macacos, foi como se a escravidão tivesse acabado e depois voltado. Alguns ainda possuem fotos de seus bisavós vestidos com trapos trabalhando na fazenda. Os mais idosos se lembram do jongo, da capoeira e do samba-de-roda na comunidade. Da época em que eram felizes, na sua roça, com seu pescado, sua dança e sua religião. Há cerca de 30 anos, voltaram a ser cativos.

The sun is now setting, and the slaves make the most of the end of the evening to rest from the day's exhaustion in the slave quarters. Work in the cane mill is hard. Whipped, shackled, far from their homeland, separated from their families, the slaves still practise capoeira and worship their gods. On that same day, two people had escaped from the farm: Zé Preto tried to sneak out behind the lower almond grove. Almeida, the person charged with recapturing escapees, did not have much difficulty in apprehending him: the slave was exhausted, he had fled out of desperation. The lashes which he received right there, in the forest, were sufficient to put an end to his suffering and dispatch him to another life. Gangá was not so lucky: he was sent to the trunk, and had to stay there for several days. So that everybody would know what happens to a slave who tries to escape. In a place not far from there, around 300 years later, the situation is not much changed. For the inhabitants of the Quilombo Rio dos Macacos, it is as if slavery had been abolished only to return once again. Some of them still possess photos of their great-grandparents dressed in rags at work on the farm. The eldest remember the jongo, the capoeira and the Samba de Roda in the community, at a time when they were happy, in their countryside, with their fish, their dancing and their religion. Around 30 years ago, they became captives once again.

A petition [pt] remains in circulation calling for ownership of the Quilombo Rio dos Macacos to remain with the Quilombolas, who have received a guarantee for now that they will not be expelled in the next four months, during which time the Incra (National Institute for Colonisation and Agrarian Reform) [pt] must conclude a Technical Report of Identification and Delimitation with the intention of determining for how long the land has been occupied.

Cape Verde: Calling Out Creative Writers

Sara Moreira — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 17:47:48 +0000

Cape Verdean blogger and journalist Odair Varela has launched a creative writing competition [pt] that will last for one month. The first of four weekly challenges consists of writing about how the country will be in the year 2090 [pt]. The essays should be submitted until March 27, 2012.

Cape Verde: Imagery from Carnival's Celebrations

Sara Moreira — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:50:04 +0000

The Great Adventure of Cape Verde's blog has posted a series of photos and one short clip featuring Carnival's celebrations.

Online Highlights from the Portuguese-Speaking World in 2011

Maisie Fitzpatrick — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 02:11:32 +0000

2011 has been another year in which bloggers and activists from a number of Portuguese-speaking countries have come together to report, translate and promote blogs and citizen media from all over the world. This article selects the highlights in the coverage of Lusophone countries on Global Voices over the last year.

Portuguese language and culture

In February we covered several blogs that gave voice to their love of the Portuguese language, paying tribute to the great variety of dialects spoken by more than 200 million people worldwide.

Hau nia lian, hau nia rain (My language, my country). Photo by Sapo Noticias Timor Leste (public domain)

In May the newspaper @Verdade, our partner in Mozambique, described Portuguese as a language that is bound up in what it means to be Mozambican.

In its coverage of Timor Leste, Global Voices examined the role of languages in asserting the identity of a country which has 16 national languages and dozens of dialects. Some blogs on Cape Verde also suggested that there are “distinct social functions” for both the language spoken by the people, Crioulo, and the official language, Portuguese.

Online demonstrations brought a more political dimension to bear on this issue, with heated reactions to the proposal for Equatorial Guinea to become a member of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries, despite having a poor track record on human rights.

Brazil: Paths towards Development

In spite of the current global crisis, Brazil is experiencing a period of economic optimism fuelled by domestic consumption. In order to maintain this growth, ongoing development policy in the country has been putting pressure on the environment and human rights.

The social cost of the rising demand for biofuels: the indigenous Guarani Kaoiwa community of Laranjeira Nhanderu were expelled from their lands 14 months ago to make way for sugarcane plantations. Photo by Annabel Symington, copyright Demotix (10/21/10).

The Amazon rainforest is seen as potential land for agriculture and as a source of raw materials and energy. Brazil's new forestry code, which regulates the use of the country's forests, has led to concerns and public demonstrations against the encouragement of farming and deforestation. “Green” agribusiness focused on biofuels and the replacement of felled trees with eucalyptus plantations have been shown to be unsustainable practices in both social and environmental terms. The dispute for land provoked by agribusiness led to the killing of activists and indigenous leaders during 2011. Yet Brazil is persisting in exporting its agribusiness model to other countries, such as Mozambique, regardless.

Coverage of events surrounding the Belo Monte Dam certainly caused the greatest outcry this year, uniting environmentalists, indigenous people and Brazilians living alongside the affected rivers. Protests in the immediate area of the dam and in major cities attracted international attention and challenged the human rights policy of Dilma Rousseff's government. This action did not wane after construction of the plant began, but rather took on different forms, including an Occupy protest by the Tupiniquim people and court cases.

These and related issues have been organised into four special features: Forest Focus: Amazon, Dossiê Belo Monte [only in pt], Indigenous Rights and Global Development.

Portugal: Crisis, Austerity and Protests

From the “Scraping-by Generation” protest in March to participation in the global protests on 15 October, Portugal has seen its political and economic crisis reach unprecedented proportions in 2011, with the fall of a government and the EU committee coming into the country to effect the financial “rescue” of public debt.

Keep calm and protest: outraged protesters outside Porto Town Hall. Photo by the protest organisers, 15 October.

Netizens took to social networks to mobilise action against severe austerity measures and to speak out in opposition to the racket conducted by the rating agencies, but also to gain inspiration from other countries, such as Iceland, on other forms of public participation.

Having launched a page devoted to special coverage of the current situation, Europe in Crisis, in September, Global Voices has acted as a bridge between different languages and has facilitated greater dialogue between outraged citizens from European countries that are suffering similar problems.

Angola: 32 Years in Power sparks Protests

In Angola the sense of revolt against the 32-year government led by José Eduardo dos Santos is becoming increasingly palpable in the streets and on the internet. Protests would have begun in March had the government not been successful in pre-empting them.

In September the police used heavy force to break up a protest, resulting in at least 18 protesters receiving prison sentences. Against all expectations, the movement has regrouped, while the number of citizen reporters in the country is also on the increase.

Video uploaded to the post Angola: Videos of Repressed Youth Protest in Luanda

Internet and the digital culture in Brazil

The fruits of increasingly widespread access to the internet in Brazil were borne out in 2011 by many creative, collective and effective examples of action. One such case was the mobilisation of social networks to take down a paedophile blog, and the call put out on Facebook to join in the unique “Different People's Big Barbeque Protest” in an upscale São Paulo neighbourhood.

Protest poster which reads "We want to be Maria Bethania", organised by Leon Prado on Facebook.

The online arena has also been the scene for a number of less auspicious episodes related to digital culture. In January the Ministry of Culture announced that it was abandoning Creative Commons licensing on its site, a blatant step backwards in public policy on the internet and copyright. Shortly afterwards, in March, the same ministry allowed the famous signer Maria Bethânia to raise 1.3 million reais tax-free for the creation of a poetry blog, thereby rousing the ire of bloggers, the twitterati and activists involved in the cultural sphere.

Cases of online censorship continue to crop up and, on occasion, overflow into the non-virtual world, with attacks on bloggers who are critical of the authorities.

In December we became aware of renewed death threats made against Ricardo Gama, who blogs against cases of the abuse of power and other irregularities by the Brazilian police. Gama had already been shot in an attack in Rio de Janeiro in March. Towards the end of this year, many were not convinced by the reason of “suicide by hanging” given for the death of Hamilton Alexandre, a controversial blogger from Santa Catarina, and social networks are being used to call for a thorough investigation of the case.

In 2012 we will continue to listen to the stories that are being told by the citizens of the world through the internet, and to amplify them so that they reach a global audience. Our doors are always open to anyone who wants to get involved in what Super magazine earlier this year dubbed “one of the 10 coolest projects on the internet”.

http://pt.globalvoicesonline.org/?p=25165

João Miguel Lima collaborated on this post.

Cape Verde: The Musical Legacy of Cesária Évora

Janet Gunter — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 07:12:04 +0000

On December 17, 2011, Cesária Évora, a musical ambassador of sorts for Cape Verde, left us. There was an abundance of tributes and declarations by her faithful audience, present in almost every corner of the globe. The singer, as well as the music of her country, were the focus of the blogosphere in recent days, and in the twittersphere Évora became a Trending Topic on the day of her death.

Julio de Magalhães, from the blog Do Médio-Oriente e afins (From the Middle East and the like) [pt] commented on the departure of the singer and highlights the music of her country:

Foi uma voz de Cabo Verde escutada e aclamada em toda a parte e, de alguma forma, um símbolo nacional. Dotada de um inconfundível instrumento vocal, como aliás grande parte dos cabo-verdianos, apresentou-se nos principais palcos do mundo sempre com extraordinário sucesso.

It was a voice of Cape Verde listened to and acclaimed all over and, in some way, a national symbol. Endowed with an unmistakable vocal instrument, as in fact a large part of Cape Verdeans, she appeared on the biggest stages of the world with extraordinary success.

photo shared by twitpic user @huygui

For Brazilian journalist Mauro Ferreira, of the blog Notas Musicais (Musical Notes) [pt] “a sweet voice of deep feeling has been silenced”. On her music, he says:

Voz que destilava a fina melancolia impregnada nas mornas - espécie de samba-canção da terra da intérprete - que entoava em crioulo, um idioma que misturava português, francês e dialetos africanos. Évora também deu voz às coladeiras, outro ritmo cabo-verdiano, mais dançante e próximo da pegada caribenha.

A voice that distilled the fine melancholy infused in mornas - a kind of samba - a song of the land of the performer - which she sang in creole, a language which mixed Portuguese, French and African dialects. Évora also gave voice to coladeiras, other Cape Verdean rhythm, more danceable and closer to a Caribbean step.

The blog Palavras Todas Palavras (Words all Words) [pt] commented in retrospective on the success of the album La diva aux pied nus (The Barefoot Diva), recorded in 1988, which alludes to the way she appeared on stage:

O álbum foi aclamado pela crítica, e em 1992 gravou Miss Perfumado, e passou a morar na França. Tornou-se uma estrela internacional aos 47 anos. Em 2004 recebeu um Grammy, de melhor álbum de world music contemporânea. Foi a cantora que recebeu maior reconhecimento internacional na história da música cabo-verdiana.

The album was acclaimed by the critics, and in 1992 she recorded Miss Perfumado, and went to live in France. She became an international star at 47 years of age. In 2004 she received a Grammy, of Best Contemporary World Music Album. She was the singer who received greatest international recognition in the history of Cape Verdean music.

The Portuguese blog Repórter a Solta (Reporter on the Loose) [pt] emphasized her great energy on stage based on a report from her shows in London:

Cesária não pára. Desde que, aos 48 anos, começou, em França, a sua carreira internacional, passa a maior parte do ano em tournée pelo mundo. Não está cansada? “É preciso aproveitar, agora que há trabalho”, diz-nos ela, como inconsciente de ser uma estrela mundial, como se vivesse nos tempos miseráveis dos bares do Mindelo. “Enquanto puder, não páro”. Na plateia, (…) são raros os caboverdianos, ou mesmo os espectadores de origem africana. São britânicos na sua maioria, famílias, casais, jovens, de meia-idade, classe média-alta…” Eles não percebem nada do que eu canto”, diz-nos Cesária. “Ninguém entende crioulo. Mas não importa. A música diz tudo. Entendem a música”. (…) Como faz ela aquilo? É um truque? Um sortilégio? Ninguém sabe explicar, mas está lá todo o fascínio de Cabo Verde.

Cesária does not stop. Since, at age 48, she began her international career in France, she spends the better part of the year on touring the world. Isn't she tired? “One must take full advantage, now that there is work,” she told us, as if unaware of being a world star, as if she still lived in the miserable times of the bars of Mindelo. “As long as I can, I will not stop.” In the audience (…) Cape Verdeans are rare, or even spectators of African origin. The majority are British people, family, couples, young people, of middle age, and upper middle class… “They don't understand anything of what I am singing,” Cesária tells us. “Nobody understands creole. But it doesn't matter. The music says it all. They understand the music”. (…) How does she do it? Is it a trick? A magic trick? Nobody knows how to explain, but there you have the whole fascination with Cape Verde.

Poster in homage to Cesária Évora written in creole distributed all over Lisbon, Portugal

In retrospective, and in a critical tone, anthropologist Miguel Moniz, guest contributor to Southcoasttoday, wrote about the space occupied by the singer on the international scene:

Cesaria Evora left Mindelo, Sao Vicente, to sing the morna on the world's great stages, winning a Grammy and becoming a chevalier in the French Ordre National de la Legion d'Honneur along the way. Although she had been performing on and off since the 1950s, it was not until the release of two albums in the 1990s that Cesaria would emerge to international acclaim in the “world music scene,” a ubiquitous though absurd catch-all category that seems to mean “music made by people from some weird place I've never heard of.”

Still on the likely unfamiliarity of the international audience with Cape Verde, the blog Passaport to wrote:

Not too many people know much about (or have even heard of) the tiny, 10-island West African country of Cape Verde. But even though relatively few actually understood her song lyrics, plenty in Europe, Africa, and the rest of the world certainly knew and loved its most famous native daughter. (…) But the lady has left behind a gorgeous legacy (…) that have taught the world about Cape Verde’s distinctive national music, called morna.

The directions of Cape Verdean music

Cesária and Maria de Barros. Photo shared by Maria de Barros on Facebook

And with Cape Verde in focus, a debate has arisen over who will take her place as musical spokesperson of the country.

The current scenario is quite far from that found by Cesária Évora. Attention was drawn to the fact that the majority of representatives of Cape Verdean music of the new generation are “daughters of the diaspora”:

As candidatas à sucessão de Cesária Évora como “a voz de Cabo Verde” são cabo-verdianas nascidas em outras partes do mundo, na maior parte dos casos em Lisboa. Mayra Andrade, a mais bem colocada, nasceu em Cuba e vive em Paris. Se Cesária Évora, falecida no sábado, era, é, “a voz de Cabo Verde” e o maior emblema internacional do país, o desaparecimento físico da diva dos pés descalços deixa vago, de certa forma, o lugar que a filha do Mindelo até aqui ocupava no panorama musical internacional. As candidatas à sucessão são várias e mais ou menos conhecidas, tendo em comum o facto de, ao contrário de Cesária, não terem nascido em Cabo Verde e serem, antes, filhas da diáspora crioula.

Candidates to the succession of Cesária Évora as the “voice of Cape Verde” are Cape Verdeans born in other parts of the world, for the most part in Lisbon. Mayra Andrade, the best placed, was born in Cuba and lives in Paris. If Cesária Évora, who died on Saturday, was the “voice of Cape Verde” and the biggest international symbol of the country, the physical disappearance of the barefoot diva leaves a void, in a way, a place that the daughter of Mindelo occupied in the international musical landscape up until now. The candidates to the succession are numerous and more or less known, having in common the fact that, unlike Cesária, they were not born in Cape Verde, instead being daughters of the creole diaspora.

Among the names cited are Mayra Andrade, Lura, Nancy Vieira, Sara Tavares, Carmen Souza, Maria de Barros, Danae and Isa Pereira. Some were born in Cape Verde, and others were not, some spent time in the country and others have not, and with various musical influences, as the case of Carmen Souza, who mixes Cape Verdean traditions with jazz, or Maria de Barros, with influence of Latin music, principally salsa.

There appears to be an effort to renew Cape Verdean music and make connections with other music, but with strong links to the roots of musical tradition of the country. What is notable is that the doors for Cape Verdean music were opened by Cesária Évora and the strength of her work, that in one form or another appears influential in the work of all of those singers cited above, be it musically, be it by inspiration and love for the country and for its language. And it is hoped they will continue on with her legacy in one way or another.

Whatever the future directions of Cape Verdean music internationally, the presence of Cesária Évora was unique and will always leave Sodade. Tom Devriendt, of the blog Africa is a Country, explains the meaning of one of the most beautiful words of the Portuguese language: “Saudade” (”Sodade” in Creole) - also the title of a song that made her famous throughout the world - and he shares the video for the song “Dor di Sodade” (The Pain of Sodade) from the album “Radio Mindelo” (2009) with old photos of the singer:

One of the many meanings of “Sodade” — that most difficult to translate Creole word — is a feeling of loss.

Lusophone Heritage of “Portugality” Around the World

Sara Moreira — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:50:21 +0000

A Facebook group and a mapping website called “Portugality” have been created to explore the cultures that result from the “global cultural fusion started by Portuguese navigations of the XVth. century and lasting to this day in places like Brazil, Mozambique, East Timor or Malacca”.

Cape Verde: Delicious Blogging on Local Gastronomy

Sara Moreira — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 15:56:28 +0000

Would you like to try the Cape Verdean famous dish, cachupa? Odair Varela explains the process of preparation in a photopost [pt]. For more on gastronomy from Cape Verde, visit the blog CV Na Pontu [pt].

Cape Verde: Ibrahim Governance prize goes to ex-President

Janet Gunter — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 12:51:56 +0000

Twitter users react to the Mo Ibrahim Foundation's attribution of this year's Governance Prize to ex-President of Cape Verde Pedro Pires. The $5 million prize dates from 2007 but went unattributed the past two years. Pires is the second “lusophone” politician to win the Prize, after ex-President of Mozambique Joaquim Chissano in 2007.

Cape Verde: Fishing Agreement with European Union

Sara Moreira — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 15:40:58 +0000

Cape-verdean journalist Odair Varela, on his blog, makes a critical analysis [pt] to the new agreement between Cape Verde's government and the European Union for the exploitation of the country's vast fishing resources.

Cape Verde: Cesaria Evora Retires

Vivienne Griffiths — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 15:17:12 +0000

Momar niang posted on their blog: “Following the advice of her Paris doctors to cancel her upcoming tour, Cesaria and her manager and producer José da Silva have agreed that she should retire once and for all. In doing so Cesaria is relinquishing the itinerant life that has taken her to the four corners of the world since her rise onto the international scene in 1991.”

Blogging in Portuguese on Special Education

Sara Moreira — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 09:20:39 +0000

The blog Grito de Mudança (Cry for Change) [pt] gathers several articles and resources on special education and children with special needs in Portuguese language.

Cape Verde: Presidential Candidates on Facebook

Sara Moreira — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 14:33:23 +0000

A group of Capeverdean citizens called Pioneiros de Cabo Verde have created an event on Facebook for the Presidential Elections that will take place on August 7. The event's page shares the Facebook profiles of the main candidates as well as videos of debates that have taken place during the electoral campaign.

Cape Verde: Blog Tears Down Statements on Climate Change

Sara Moreira — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 16:22:19 +0000

“Droughts are a well known fatality in Cape Verde (…) long before CO2 started rising”, argues the blog EcoTretas (EcoBullshit), while tearing down alleged misinformed statements from Al Gore's The Climate Reality Project.

Cape Verde: Demonstration Against Violence

Sara Moreira — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 13:43:02 +0000

The organization of a peaceful demonstration against violence in Cape Verde, scheduled for July 5, has already more than 12,000 accepted invitations on Facebook [pt].