| The Republic of Cape Verde, a group of 10 small islands that are cumulatively the size of the state of Rhode Island, are located approximately 350 miles off of the coast of Senegal in West Africa. Cape Verde, like Liberia and Sierra Leone, is one of a handful of African nations where generations of the citizens have family to family ties connecting Africa to North America. For those who have an interest in learning about slavery and the Atlantic Slave Trade, Cape Verde's historic involvement in both of these nefarious enterprises actually predates that of all of the nations in West Africa. The Islands were unpopulated when they were discovered in 1460 by the Portuguese Navigator Antonio da Noli. Shortly thereafter, the Portuguese established a settlement in the largest Island, Santiago, which today hosts the capital city of Praia. The Islands served as the first base of operations for a European maritime power allowing trade and commerce with the powerful African societies in an area that was called the Upper Guinea Coast. Walter Rodney, a very prominent West Indian scholar, actually wrote his dissertation documenting the evolution of slavery and the slave trade between the Cape Verde Islands, West Africa, Europe and the Americas. Christopher Columbus actually made two stops in Cape Verde on his way to the New World to obtain provisions for his ships. No country in Africa has a colonial history longer than that of Cape Verde. Portuguese colonial exploitation led to repeated cycles of extreme drought and famine lasting for over 400 years resulting in death, misery and massive emigration. The struggle for liberation against Portugal was led by Amilcar Cabral, the Cape Verdean revolutionary who, with Cape Verde's first President, Aristides Pereira and the current President, Pedro Pires created the African Party for the Liberation Guinea-Bissau and The Cape Verde Islands (PAIGC). The Republic of Cape Verde Islands celebrates it independence one day after our 4th of July as it became independent on July 5, 1975. I had my own roots experience when I visited The Cape Verde Islands on the first of three trips in 1983 as a guest of President Aristides Pereira. At the turn of the century, my grandparents, on both sides, immigrated to the United States seeking a better life. My maternal grandmother emigrated from the Island of Sao Nicolau (St. Nicholas). She had three sisters: one that remained on the Island; one who immigrated to the capital city of Luanda in Angola where she raised her family; and the other who immigrated to Rome, Italy where she also raised her family. My "roots experience" in Cape Verde was truly the highlight of my life. I literally kissed the ground when I exited Cape Verde Airlines tiny plane at the airport in Sao Nicolau. My aunt, several relatives and friends from the Cape Verdean Embassy in the Washington, informed my relatives that a long lost distant cousin was making his first trip "back home" to visit with his people. At the very moment when I made contact with Mana Bento, I knew what Alex Haley had experienced when he made his own sojourn back to the village of his forbears. Words cannot adequately express the deep and powerful emotions that went through my entire being. While a professor at UW-Madison, I would often encourage students to do what a record number of UW students have done, join the Peace Corps. One such student actually did join and did a tour of duty in Cape Verde. She returned to Madison with a Cape Verdean husband where they are now raising their family. She is totally fluent in Cape Verdean Crioulo and knows how to cook cachupa -- the national dish that I have yearned for many years! There are a lot of individuals from the Islands or from the immigrant community who have become prominent for their accomplishments. Horace Silva, who Professor and Bassist Richard Davis says is one of the smoothest of jazz musicians, is Cape Verdean. One of his most famous albums is entitled "The Cape Verdean Blues." If you are of my generation, you probably danced and grooved to the R&B sounds of the group "Tavares." The Tavares brothers hail from the city of New Bedford, MA which is the Mecca for Cape Verdeans in the U.S., and which is also my mother's hometown. If you are a baseball fan, you probably have heard of Davy Lopes who played and coached for several teams in the National League. One of the coaches who was a nemesis for Packer's fans is former Detroit Lions coach Wayne Fonts who is also Cape Verdean and from the New England area. If you, as I do, frequent the Memorial Union Theater or Terrace, chances are you enjoyed the sounds of Cape Verde's international diva Cesaria Evora and the rising star and recording artist Maria de Barros. Evora and de Barros sing heartfelt songs called mornas which speak to aspects of the hard life that Cape Verdeans have endured and the longing for those who have taken to the seas leaving loved ones behind for a better life. Travel to Cape Verde is still relatively inexpensive. The Islands are served by South African Airlines, Senegal's Air Afrique, Portugal's TAP and Cape Verde Airlines also has limited flights out of Boston, MA. The visitor will find pristine beaches, four star restaurants, hotels and resorts, especially on the Island of Sal where the Amilcar Cabral International Airport is located. I actually preferred staying in the small motels called pousadas which were cheaper and more importantly, allowed me to be closer to the people and to enjoy the people call Cape Verdean morabeza which is the warmth and welcoming hospitality of the people. While the official language is Portuguese, Crioulo is the language that is spoken by the masses. Many of the people are fluent in French with a smaller percentage fluent in English. Travelers and visitors will marvel at the obvious connections between Cape Verde and the U.S. when they visit the most remote of regions and see young kids walking around in Boston Red Sox t-shirts! There are also a number of historic monuments to slavery and the slave trade and Cape Verde's role in the revolution that helped overthrow fascism in Portugal leading the subsequent independence of Angola and Mozambique. The seafood is fresh, cheap and second to none in taste! If you are thinking of having your own "roots connection" to Africa, I encourage you to consider visiting The Republic of Cape Verde Islands in West Africa. If the roots experience is not of utmost importance to you, I would still encourage you to do what many in Europe in increasingly greater and greater numbers are doing: having their vacations in the Islands where the temperature stays between 75 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit year round and where they can also enjoy the morabeza of the Cape Verdean people. |
| The Literary Divide/Dr. Paul Barrows The Cape Verde Islands and the Roots Experience: One of the best kept secrets in Africa |
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