Cabo Verde
- Karen Darnell
- Jun 25, 2020
- 2 min read
Someone once told me, “I thought only poor people use libraries.” I have never considered myself poor, but I couldn’t possibly afford all the books I read. When I check books out of the Riverside Public Library, there is a cumulative total on the receipt of how much I’ve saved by not buying. It has reached a significant amount over the years. But even if you have plenty of money to spend on books and space to store them, the library is not only the ultimate recycler but, through its careful selection, it also gives hints of what the community values.
The Los Angeles County Library is now open for ordering online and outdoor pickup! I’m so excited that it opened just in time for me to read about Cape Verde (the English name for Cabo Verde). If I were to take a guess at what Cape Verdeans value based on the books available through the Los Angeles County Library, it would be to teach their children where they are from and to share their music. I picked up and read Seaside Dream by Janet Costa Bates, in which a grandmother shares her culture with her granddaughter with stories and food. To experience Cape Verdean food, see here: http://www.capeverde-islands.com/cvrecipes.html
I also read Songs in the Shade of the Cashew and Coconut Trees: Lullabies and Nursery Rhymes from West Africa and the Caribbean by Nathalie Soussana. This is not only a book, but includes a music CD. I found the included songs from Cape Verde on YouTube and they are as follows:
Cesária Évora was a Cape Verdean singer-songwriter whose music I first found at the library then online. You can play her Grammy Award winning album Voz d'Amor online at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_snn4lEUms&list=OLAK5uy_kfFV5D2qXHQaiLzfQdKLjhXOtNCPgMdYs or see her in a live concert in Paris at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQtxDgeC6Ig
More Cape Verdean musicians include the Mendes Brothers, John and Ramiro, who have a series of songs on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rp_KLvsfRzI&list=RDEMnQQpMT8H-kIVw9Oe1ndGYA&start_radio=1 and were interviewed on CNN International here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fF_od7GuN50
I like the children’s books and all this music but, thinking I needed more, I bought a copy of Germano Almeida’s The Last Will & Testament of Senhor da Silva Araújo. The story starts funny and light, and ends confused and awkward, including rape of the cleaning woman and a resulting child not acknowledged until the reading of the will. Although I’m glad I read it, I’m not necessarily recommending this book to others unless they are dedicated to reading their way around the world and/or are willing to be uncomfortable to face the impact of colonialism.
Cape Verde is directly west of Africa’s Sahara and Sahel. To see what these dry, volcanic islands look like, I watched Discovering the World: Season 4 Episode 3 “Cape Verde – The Creole Archipelago” on Amazon. You can also explore what is available for tourists here at
When this pandemic is over, you might want to plan travel to Cape Verde using your local travel advisor. Shout out to my favorite travel advisor, Kaitlin Darnell at Laura's Travel in Redlands. May the travel industry survive and thrive - may we all survive, thrive, recognize our mutual humanity, learn to deal with our conflicts, and allow peace and health to flourish in Cape Verde and throughout the world.
Photo credit: Alex Paganelli https://unsplash.com/photos/urovsOqkbQo
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