Article by: emmanuel@seekinternationalproperty.com (Emmanuel Adeyanju) Published: 14/12/2011

Feast And Cultural Event In Cape Verde

is the most important cultural event celebrated in the island. Parades may be organised in the other islands, but the most interesting and animated parades happen in Mindelo. It inspired a great deal in the Brazilian carnival, but it has its own particular «Creole» features.

It’s a very popular celebration that brings people together in spontaneous groups of masquerade, which animate the streets with lively shows as well as with the noise of the drums. Organised colourful parades and typical music are highly appreciated by the local population and by tourists who come into the streets to enjoy the shows and have fun

Musical Events :

The Music Festival of Baía das Gatas takes place every year in August in the bay with the same name, normally coinciding with the week of full moon. It’s an international music festival that brings together in the island famous national and international groups. Extra cultural, leisure and sports activities are also organised during the days of the festival for the tourists and the local residents.

Besides these major events, religious festivals are also important for the inhabitants of the island. In fact, the most animated one is São João (Saint John), which takes place in Ribeira de Julião where people get together to dance at the rhythm of the drums.

Mindelact:

A festival of theatre, is also an international event that gathers amateurs and professional actors and actresses of theatre from all over the world, and presents to the theatre lovers important plays. It happens every year, usually in September.

Traditional Music:

Cesária Évora, the famous «barefoot» Muse has made the music of the Archipelago internationally known, and this is the reason why she’s referred as the Ambassador of the Capeverdean music. There are plenty of artists, singers and musicians of different generations who have been distinguished in the world of Capeverdean music. Singers, musicians and composers have been introducing new sounds to the traditional and well-known rhythms, thus making the music lively and interesting.

The combination of European and African sounds made of music the utmost cultural expression of the Capeverdean people. The native sounds of Africa combined with European instruments and later with latin instruments resulted in the creation of the "Creole" music, as mestizo as the population of the Archipelago itself.

It is said that batuko, the traditional dance at the rhythm of African drums, was the first style of music played by the slaves, and its rhythm had an impact in the body of the dancers. The string instruments were introduced by the Europeans, and a new type of music began to be composed and played, the "morna", a much slower rhythm with lyrics that are mainly about love and longing. The latin influence in the music is showed in the use of wind instruments. Among the traditional and the new instruments that are combined in the natural evolution of the music of the modern times, are the conch shells and the flute used as wind instruments, the iron bar, the drums, guitars and many other acoustic instruments.

This combination of sounds has lead to the creation of very lively capeverdean rhythms such as coladeira, funaná and mazurca (a dancing style used mainly in the islands of Santo Antão and S. Nicolau), considered to be the most reliable expression of joy and warmth of the Capeverdeans and of the country itself.

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Please contact the author at emmanuel@seekinternationalproperty.net for more information.