Reporting

Cape Verde: at the Atlantic Music Expo, Gabriela Mendes sings about her love of traditional music

Praia, capital of Cape Verde, lives to the rhythm of music from around the world at the beginning of April. Two important festivals are being held this week on the island of Santiago: the renowned Kriol Jazz this weekend and, since April 1, 2024, the Atlantic Music Expo which is an important meeting for music professionals. The opportunity to discover artists, organize tours, produce records. All concerts are free. Present there is the singer Gabriela Mendes, a fervent activist, lover of the traditional music of the archipelago. Encounter.

Listen - 01:18

Gabriela Mendes on the main stage of the Atlantic Music Expo, in Praia. © Guillaume Thibault/RFI

By: RFI Follow

Advertisement

Read more

With our special correspondent in Praia,

Guillaume Thibault

Some are afraid of the past, only think of the power of modernity. For Gabriela Mendes it's quite the opposite. A strong character for those who believe that music is a quest.

“ 

It’s above all a way of living, I would say

,” she explains.

Traditional music, for me, is our daily life. And so, we have it in our blood

 .”

With the virtuoso guitarist Bau, Gabriela Mendes learned all the traditional styles. Because each “sound”, each rhythm, expresses an emotion.

“ 

Even if there are difficulties, we are a little stuck

,” she says.

We still like to party. That’s colladeira

[a musical style, Editor’s note]

. Batucada

[another musical style, Editor’s note]

, these are our ancestors 

.

”

Looking in the past, the words to explain, to share with new generations that Cape Verde has everything to succeed as long as its identity is respected.

“ 

It’s evolution, it’s money, it’s a world of interests and it kills what is most beautiful in life: that is to say, being human, exchanges 

,” believes Gabriela Mendes

On stage, surrounded by the cream of the archipelago's musicians, Gabriela Mendes shines and immerses the audience in this rich and popular past, in the soul of Cape Verde.

Read alsoCape Verde: with its 10th edition, the Atlantic Music Expo wants to grow even more

Newsletter

Receive all the international news directly in your inbox

I subscribe

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

Share :

Continue reading on the same themes:

  • Green cap

  • Music

  • World music

  • Culture

  • Culture Africa