The origins of the Cape Verdean Funaná may be shrouded in mystery and it may have been seen as a low form of entertainment- peasant music – by the moneyed and travelled few but there is no doubt that the music stirs the soul and livens up any party.

If you are travelling to Cape Verde on holiday you can expect your heart and hips to have a good workout at least once during the trip…

Here are the dates for this year’s public holidays in Cape Verde

1 Jan – New Year’s Day
20 Jan – Heroes’ Day
24 Feb – Carnival
25 Feb Ash Wednesday
1 May Labour Day
19 May Municipal Day
5 Jul Independence Day
15 Aug Assumption (Day of Our Lady of Grace)
12 Sep National Day
1 Nov All Saints’ Day
25 Dec Christmas Day

For those who would like to learn more about the music of Cesaria Evora, there is a discussion going on which focusses on her songs and albums at the Music Blogging Network.

This thread concerns Mar e Morada de Sodade but you can hear and join in discussions about the barefoot diva’s other songs by looking at the links top right on that page  or by typing Cesaria Evora into the search box at the top of the page.

Enjoy!

The barefoot diva, Cesaria Evora, was born in Mindelo on Sao Vicente Island in August 1941. Losing her father at a young age, Cesaria was surrendered to an orphanage. It was here that she first sang, but it was when she was sixteen that a young Cape Verdean sailor taught her to appreciate the typical Cape Verdean singing styles of Coladeras and Mornas that she truly found her voice.

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=8kSvZJx7v7Q]

The mornas that Cesaria sings can be roughly equated to the Blues. Usually sung in native Creole and encompassing a feeling of yearning, longing, profound sadness and regret, it is said that the term morna is taken from the English ‘to mourn’. It is more likely however that the term is taken from a Portugese word which means ‘tepid’.