prior to 1992, anyone with knowledge of the recording industry or the musical currents of the planet, he thought of Cape Verde as a possible global stockpile of music. The African archipelago was until that time totally unspoiled terrain. Not characterized by a booming economy, or to have more exotic tourist attraction.
However, the fragrant Miss
output of Cesaria Evora, marked a turning point in the global presence of the former Portuguese colony, and in the marketing of the melodies of the islands of the Atlantic where it almost never rains. This third CD of the "barefoot diva" meant also a strong backing for the label
Lusáfrica that, directed by José da Silva, would be responsible for bringing to light subsequent projects Cesaria Evora.
Thus, in early twenty-first century, Cape Verde was already a remarkable musical reference. The morna, close relative of the Portuguese fado, became a recognizable rhythm, not only by their origin but by the letters of composers like Tito Paris
, Lusáfrica usual collaborators.
While early drafts of the famous singer of Mindelo, may be described as very traditional in the lyric, thematic and rhythmic patterns, with fame came more contemporary records relating to sound. No wonder in later recordings, Cize, as his friends call him, had the luxury of working with singers of varying Marisa Monte source as
, Caetano Veloso
, Bonnie Rait
, Salif Keita
, and our
Orquesta Aragón.
With Lusáfrica and travel to Cuba from its main producer, Cuban artists as
Leyanis López Montañez Polo and recorded albums and enjoyed the small but important contribution to the label. The musical links between the two countries exceeded those of previous decades. As recalled, Cape Verde and Sal Island was the first stop on the travel of Cubans to Angola, during the years of civil war in that African nation.
Una de las canciones de
Miss perfumado ,
Sodade , ha pasado a ser con el tiempo una especie de himno que identifica al archipiélago. Cuenta una historia triste de emigración y lejanía, como ha sido la de tantos caboverdianos que en tiempos difíciles han buscado un mejor futuro en otras tierras, ya sea en la antigua metrópoli o en España o Francia. Con ellos han viajado las tradiciones de las islas y el
crioulo , ese dialecto que por ratos recuerda al acento angolano del portugués. Y es que tras asentarse en los países de acogida, los emigrados y sus descendientes lejos de cortar los lazos con la patria, se preocupan por buscar nuevos modos de vincularse a ella.
Lusáfrica is no stranger to this search. Da Silva was born in Cape Verde, but grew up in Dakar and Paris. The creation of the label is the best example of the activity of this peculiar diaspora, which has found in music an excellent letter.
Lura and Sara Tavares
, both of Cape Verdean origin and settled in Lisbon, raided in the late 90 at the World Music market, in addition to achieving wide coverage in Portuguese media. In 2005 they released two productions that stood by and showed maturity as artists. Lura
with Di
korpu ku soul, was evidence the variety of the music of these lands bathed by the Atlantic. Comforting to know that someone would have bet on his voice so sweet and malleable, accurate to break any prejudice on the island rhythms, if indeed some critics were quick to surmise that. With this third CD as colorful as it is diverse and no one had to prove that Cape Verde was just morna and lyrics of longing. Following the success, Lura presented in 2007 his fourth project titled
M'Bem di fora.
Sara Tavares The journey has been longer. Born and educated in the mainland, on disk
Balance Portuguese is heard more
crioulo the . However, the prevalence only questions the connection to their origins, though in the case of a larger project designed for the international market.
When we went to her last December at the Queen Elizabeth Hall
of
South Bank in London, noticed that his repertory was not yet conceived to fill the almost two hour concert. However, Tavares scene looked restless, with an extraordinary energy reserve. Near the end of his performance, the audience, who had danced the beautiful with some issues, asking for more, so she had no choice but to return and sing the same as the his initial concert. And then the party again.
recently had the privilege of seeing another girl from Cape Verde, Mayra Andrade
. Only six months earlier had alternated with Angelique Kidjo and now came with the endorsement of having received the award from BBC
in the World Music section. Sung in French and crioulo
,
Surf is a great compilation for any beginner. Interestingly, the young Andrade hear much better live than in the compact recorded in Paris. She was born in Cuba and raised in Senegal, Angola and Germany, has placed its base in the French capital. There is a group of fans willing to follow wherever I go, people are filled with pride when they sound the rhythms of their nation.
After several days listening to records of these singers, I wonder if it's different rhythms of Cape Verde one day conquer the average listener. Proposals for Sara Tavares, Lura and Mayra Andrade, suggest just the prelude to what musical talent in a small country can contribute to the soundscape of this universe.
Maybe next decade is that of most contemporary African rhythms, and unfortunately I have the impression that Africa is more a reference to "essential" that "specific" in to music. For often the African musical creation is an indication of "traditional practices", "rhythms dating from the origin of time", "sounds that have passed from generation to generation and from land to land, but it's all in the generality and few manage to appoint at least a dozen contemporary African musicians.
And who says Africa must include a sound space as diverse as the music produced by the north, south, east and west of the continent, each zone with its themes and rhythms. Seen in this context, Cape Verde is barely a blip on the map, but judging from the latest recordings coming from the archipelago and its diaspora, should give reason to a Cape Verdean who sat near us in the audience at the Barbican, Mayra Andrade threw an impromptu decision: we are few, but we are good.
happens so unexpectedly, like many things in the big city. It's a typical day, one weekend we decided, as usual, meet with whom we want and who we want. May is almost over and until it reaches the next month the state of finances will not improve, although this improvement did not have much to do with credit crunch and other scary predictions of the bag. 
