Culture
Handicraft is one of the riches of Cape Verdean culture, this art reflects the cultural mix of this people, but it has not been easy to maintain their identity. The complexity and richness of Cape Verde's artisanal tradition is the result of the legacy left by various peoples – African slaves, Portuguese, Jews (coming from the Iberian Peninsula), Caribbean, and after all the melting pot that resulted from mixed marriages. The National Center for Crafts and Design has been essential to maintain this identity.
Cape Verdean handicraft is rich and ranges from weaving with its traditional colors, through ceramics, sculpture in wood and other materials originating on the islands, and animal skins, without forgetting basketry or traditional costume jewelery. The archipelago's handicraft is very unique and is a true expression of popular culture. Nowadays, it is also an attraction for tourists, its manufacture and sale the only means of subsistence for some families.
Painting is also an important form of cultural expression. In some places some tile panels can be seen, in the traditional colors of Portuguese tiles, white and blue, in which the islands and Cape Verdean people are portrayed.
Cape Verdean Music is not limited to the mornas elevated to the UNESCO Intangible Heritage category. And whose greatest exponent is Cesária Évora. This singer influenced a legion of followers and the morna is already a “world song”.
Throughout history, the country has created traditional music of surprising vitality, mixing elements from various latitudes, to create a unique identity – the identity of Cape Verde.
There are the Batuko and Mazurca, the Plangentes and Doridas Toadas from Aboio (Santo Antão and Brava islands), the Funaná and Coladeras, the Cantigas de Monda (Islands of São Nicolau, Santo Antão, São Tiago and Fogo), the Divinas on the island of São Nicolau, sung in three voices in archaic Latin with delicious distortions, or the Tabanca on the island of São Tiago.
Writing – romance and poetry – and painting are also areas where some authors stand out. Of the writers and poets we highlight: Orlanda Amarílis; Luís Romano de Madeira and Melo; Germano de Almeida; Henrique Teixeira de Sousa; Manuel Lopes; Baltazar Lopes da Silva; António Aurélio Gonçalves; José Lopes; Onesimus Silveira; João Vário (Timoteo Tio Tiofe); Amilcar Cabral, among many others.
Sculpture has an extremely important role in Cape Verdean Culture, as well as ceramics and painting, passing through music, with a handful of interpreters and composers, who make known to the world an extremely rich culture. Without forgetting the anonymous people who continue to fight to preserve their cultural traits and their ancestral heritage.