Description
Book SynopsisChronicles the work of Norberto Tavares, a Cabo Verdean musician and humanitarian who served as the conscience of his island nation during the transition from Portuguese colony to democratic republic. Based on twenty years of collaborative fieldwork, Songs for Cabo Verde: Norberto Tavares's Musical Visions for a New Republic focuses on the musician Norberto Tavares but also tells a larger story about postcolonial nation building, musical activism, and diaspora life within the Lusophone sphere. It follows the parallel trajectories of Cabo Verdean independence and Tavares's musical career over four decades (1975-2010). Tavares lived and worked in Cabo Verde, Portugal, and the United States, where he died in New Bedford, Massachusetts at age fifty-four. Tavares's music serves as a lens through which we can view Cabo Verde's transition from a Portuguese colony to an independent, democratic nation, one that was shaped in part through the musician's persistent humanitarian messages.
Table of ContentsIntroduction Son of Santa Catarina: Norberto Tavares's Early Years (1956-1973) Cabo Verde and Its Traditions in Context Revolutions and Transformations (1973-1975) Volta Pa Fonti: A Return to the Source for Musical Inspiration and Grounding (1976-1979) Starting Again in American (1979-1988) Playing My Culture. (1988-) Opening the Door to Democracy: Norberto Tavares Goes Home (1990) Changing Scenes in New England (1991-1999) The Final Years (2000-2010) Epilogue: The Legacy of Norberto Tavares
