Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Cesária Évora was hands-down the most famous practitioner of
morna
and
coladeiras
.
Contemporary musicians to look for include the ensemble groups Simentera and Ferro
Gaita, and singers Maria de Barros and Sara Tavares.
CESÁRIA ÉVORA
Undisputed queen of the
morna
and Cape Verde's most famous citizen, Cesária Évora wowed the world with a
voice at once densely textured and disarmingly direct. She began to gain an international audience in the
mid-1990s but vaulted to stardom in 1997 when, at the second annual all-African music awards, she ran away
with three of the top gongs, including best female vocalist. Suddenly people around the world were swaying to
the rhythms of Cape Verde's music, even if they couldn't point the country out on a map. Évora left her native
Mindelo in favour of Paris, but the 'barefoot diva' never put on airs; she was known to appear onstage accompan-
ied by a bottle of booze and a pack of ciggies. When she died at 70 in 2011, after a bout of illness, Cape Verde de-
clared two days of national mourning and the Mindelo airport was renamed in her honour. Her music legacy very
much lives on.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Environment
Cape Verde consists of 10 major islands (nine of them inhabited) and five islets, all of vol-
canic origin. Though none is more than about 50km from its closest neighbour, they rep-
resent a wide array of climates and landscapes. All are arid or semiarid, but the mountain-
ous islands of Brava, Santiago, Fogo, Santo Antão and São Nicolau - all with peaks over
1000m - catch enough moisture to support grasslands as well as fairly intensive agricul-
ture, particularly in windward-facing valleys. Still, only 20% of the land is arable. Maio,
Boa Vista and Sal are flatter and almost entirely arid, with long, sandy beaches and desert-
like i nteriors.
Cape Verde has less fauna than just about anywhere in Africa. Birdlife is a little richer
(around 75 species), and includes a good number of endemics (38 species). The frigate
bird and the extremely rare razo lark are much sought after by twitchers. The grey-headed
kingfisher with its strident call is more common.
Divers can see a good range of fish, including tropical species such as parrotfish and
angelfish, groupers, barracudas, moray eels and, with luck, manta rays, sharks (including
the nurse, tiger and lemon) and marine turtles. Humpback whales breed in these waters;
the peak is March and April. Five endangered species of turtle visit the islands on their
way across the Atlantic. Cape Verde has the world's third-largest loggerhead turtle nesting
population. Nesting takes place from June to October.
