Tuesday, December 08, 2009
She is Cape Verde...
Awake I dream of her beauty, she lays in the cradle of the atlantic, beside her sisters, draped with colorful villages, & terraced mountains that kiss the clouds, I long to taste the sweet dates of her white sanded deserts, I long to ride my horse through her barren lands of rock and sun, I thirst for the wine of her v...olcanic vineyards, she is God's poetry on earth, awake I dream of her, she is Cape Verde
Monday, January 12, 2009
Son of Cape Verde
I am the son of Cape Verde; islands of the valiant, the humble and the fearless,
People who toiled in the hot sun, laboring over dry land to keep strong their existence; people abandoned amidst ocean and sand for 500 years.
I am the son of Cape Verde; the son of courage; the courage of the thousands of Cape Verdian whalers who faced the giants of the ocean throughout the world's shorelines, the courage of some of my ancestors who migrated to Sao Tome to live and work as slaves of the 21st century, and the courage of all my ancestors who worked the toughest jobs of their times, stripped of their rights, living in the worst conditions imaginable.
That's why I never sit back and let opportunities pass me by.... because I've seen the callous of my father's hand, and I've tasted the sweetness of the fruits of his labor.
People who toiled in the hot sun, laboring over dry land to keep strong their existence; people abandoned amidst ocean and sand for 500 years.
I am the son of Cape Verde; the son of courage; the courage of the thousands of Cape Verdian whalers who faced the giants of the ocean throughout the world's shorelines, the courage of some of my ancestors who migrated to Sao Tome to live and work as slaves of the 21st century, and the courage of all my ancestors who worked the toughest jobs of their times, stripped of their rights, living in the worst conditions imaginable.
That's why I never sit back and let opportunities pass me by.... because I've seen the callous of my father's hand, and I've tasted the sweetness of the fruits of his labor.
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
WHY TODAY I PROUDLY VOTED FOR BARACK OBAMA
Today I voted for Barack Obama because I knew my vote was going to count!
I knew that there was a name on my ballet that would restore our economy,
I knew that there was a name on my ballet that would bring peace instead of war to the world,
I knew that there was a name on my ballet that would represent the good will of the American people,
And since the primaries, I knew that there is only one candidate that really cared about the voices of America; OBAMA. Why? because if you heard Obama's speech since the primaries, you would've heard him say several times that he will 'listen to the people', that is a bold thing for a candidate to say, and no other candidate said it.
Therefore it was only proper that the people of America are voting in large numbers. Never before in American history have minorities and young adults voted in such large numbers. Never before have people of all ages and ethnicities crowd polling booths at early hours of the day to vote. Why all this energy? because hope is in the air, and Obama is that hope.
Why would anyone vote for McCain? I have high respect for him as a human being and a man who sacrificed his life for this country, but I do not want his policies to lead this nation. Giving tax breaks to the wealthy and to major corporations have never helped the economy, because when rich people get excess capital, they don't invest in the economy; they invest in themselves and other foreign markets. I'm not against the wealthy nor am I against big corporations; but I am against irresponsible taxation laws. It doesn't make sense that the impoverished and hardworking American's have to work 2 to 3 jobs to survive because they have to pay taxes they can't afford, while the wealthy don't have to pay taxes that they can afford. It doesn't make any sense.
America is hungry for a competent government. America wants a government that is 'for the people'. This election is about the people who have always felt ignored for so many years, people who've showed apathy towards a politics that did not hear their voices nor considered their opinions. And now they've found hope, they've found their voice in politics through the words and ideas of Barack Obama.
Saturday, July 05, 2008
Criolo ta obi lento
This is not to be taken too seriously, its not a scientific fact but the result of a conversation, whether its true, funny or silly, that's for you to decide....
One sunny day after jagacida, arroz marisco, and red wine I asked a close family friend why do we listen to so much morna, why old school funana is slow with compasso and the rapicado is only at the end?
why the first instruments you are most likely to learn when you're a child is either violin, guitar or piano and its usually a morna?
At that moment he had upgraded from wine to whisky...he smiled slowly, looked up as if he was about to make a toast and explained to me;
"criolo ta obi lento",
our hearing is like a slowly played violin and the sway of a cavaquinho when it plays morna,
Traditional funana is played with compasso and danced with 'passo baca' (the pace of a cow), because "criolo ta obi lento" - Cape Verdeans hear slow,
when we dance we take our time to feel the girl in our arms first, feel her against our body second and then feel the music last,
when we go to a party at night, we take time to eat, drink, talk, dance, eat, drink, talk, dance and the time slips us by...
most people would think that sunrise means go home and sleep it off, but for us sunrise means a huge mancheda of catchupa refogadu, canja, cafe, camocha and coffee, and if we're in the right place a swim at the beach,
After he said this the whole room shared his witty humor and smiles were abundant. This reassured me that it wasn't the whisky nor the wine speaking, it was his soul reciting an all-familiar theme.
I took the position of a devil's advocate and stated the fact that today in Cape Verde there is a fusion of Funana & fast-deka beats, and kuduro, techno is all too popular.....so does this mean that the new generation of Cape Verdeans have upgraded hearing?
suddenly the smiles in the room turned into loud laughter...thinking I had created a debate and won it before the oponent could respond I got up to open a bear bottle when I heard the philosopher clear his throat.
He did not hesitate and smiled at me as I took a seat, he was not done supporting his philosophy........
well you see, you kids dance faster funana, and dance Angolan kuduro, but you won't like the party until you've heard a slow kizomba, you dance the kuduros that are already out of style in Angola and the faster funanas of today have either repetitive lyrics or lyrics with popular themes, otherwise you just won't be able to follow because "criolo ta boi lento."
I had no response! so I just laughed along
I remembered that its all too common that the airplane will arrive late from Cape Verde, because the pilot was attending a wedding party or even worse spent his night watching live music and drinking aguardente.
I remembered that when we enter a room of 100 Cape Verdeans we will be scolded for not greeting every single face and every single greeting comes with 10 minutes of conversation...because who cares about time or being in a rush....criolo ta obi lento.
Have you ever tried rushing a Cape Verdean? Have you ever talked fast to or loud at a Cape Verdean? don't attempt it! it will not be a friendly experience!
why do we have difficulty understanding portuguese and brazilians, not because criolo is different from portuguese, but because they don't talk with a paced melody, and after all....
criolo ta obi lento.
One sunny day after jagacida, arroz marisco, and red wine I asked a close family friend why do we listen to so much morna, why old school funana is slow with compasso and the rapicado is only at the end?
why the first instruments you are most likely to learn when you're a child is either violin, guitar or piano and its usually a morna?
At that moment he had upgraded from wine to whisky...he smiled slowly, looked up as if he was about to make a toast and explained to me;
"criolo ta obi lento",
our hearing is like a slowly played violin and the sway of a cavaquinho when it plays morna,
Traditional funana is played with compasso and danced with 'passo baca' (the pace of a cow), because "criolo ta obi lento" - Cape Verdeans hear slow,
when we dance we take our time to feel the girl in our arms first, feel her against our body second and then feel the music last,
when we go to a party at night, we take time to eat, drink, talk, dance, eat, drink, talk, dance and the time slips us by...
most people would think that sunrise means go home and sleep it off, but for us sunrise means a huge mancheda of catchupa refogadu, canja, cafe, camocha and coffee, and if we're in the right place a swim at the beach,
After he said this the whole room shared his witty humor and smiles were abundant. This reassured me that it wasn't the whisky nor the wine speaking, it was his soul reciting an all-familiar theme.
I took the position of a devil's advocate and stated the fact that today in Cape Verde there is a fusion of Funana & fast-deka beats, and kuduro, techno is all too popular.....so does this mean that the new generation of Cape Verdeans have upgraded hearing?
suddenly the smiles in the room turned into loud laughter...thinking I had created a debate and won it before the oponent could respond I got up to open a bear bottle when I heard the philosopher clear his throat.
He did not hesitate and smiled at me as I took a seat, he was not done supporting his philosophy........
well you see, you kids dance faster funana, and dance Angolan kuduro, but you won't like the party until you've heard a slow kizomba, you dance the kuduros that are already out of style in Angola and the faster funanas of today have either repetitive lyrics or lyrics with popular themes, otherwise you just won't be able to follow because "criolo ta boi lento."
I had no response! so I just laughed along
I remembered that its all too common that the airplane will arrive late from Cape Verde, because the pilot was attending a wedding party or even worse spent his night watching live music and drinking aguardente.
I remembered that when we enter a room of 100 Cape Verdeans we will be scolded for not greeting every single face and every single greeting comes with 10 minutes of conversation...because who cares about time or being in a rush....criolo ta obi lento.
Have you ever tried rushing a Cape Verdean? Have you ever talked fast to or loud at a Cape Verdean? don't attempt it! it will not be a friendly experience!
why do we have difficulty understanding portuguese and brazilians, not because criolo is different from portuguese, but because they don't talk with a paced melody, and after all....
criolo ta obi lento.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Saving Cape Verde's Turtles: Saving Cape Verde
Check out http://sostartarugas.org/
a facebook group too
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6491778950
Just a few 5 to 10 years ago Cape Verde had miles of untouched beautiful beaches. You could walk for miles and just see ocean and sand, occasionally you'd see a small fishing village with pastel colored stone homes and fishermen's small canoes along the shoreline. Fishing has never been industrialized in Cape Verde and that is why to this day in some villages you can catch seafood without going very far from the shoreline. I remember just a few summers ago my 12 year old cousin caught a squid with his bare hands while taking a swim.
Cape Verde has one of the world's richest ocean bio-diversity, mainly because small scale canoe-fishing does not damage the ocean and it's habitat. Also Cape Verdean villages don't waste a lot of lights and resources that pollute the ocean nor scare away certain sea creatures that are sensitive to lights.
But times have changed, Today there is so much construction in Cape Verde, especially ocean front construction, which are lit at night; and the lights from these construction sites are scaring away turtles. Turtles lay their eggs at night in the darkness, but with all the construction lights and street lights near the beaches, the Turtles are becoming disoriented.
There is also a habit amongst some Cape Verdeans to consume turtles as a delicacy. In the end Cape Verde is loosing its precious sea turtles.
It's great to see there are organizations out there trying to conserve these turtles, but it's also important to realize that the problem with these turtles represents and reflects upon a larger problem; neglect. There are so many benefits to Cape Verde's economic growth, that sometimes the problems that seem so small go neglected. But not for long, because for every problem there is a solution or more, and I'm glad to see these solutions arise. People coming together to solve theses problems and make Cape Verde a greater nation.
The Future:
I'm very excited about Cape Verde's future; More and more our nation is evolving in great ways and above all we have shown a strong ability to solve problems successfully no matter what they are. This effort to save Cape Verde's sea turtles shows the benefit of this unique style of globalization that we in Cape Verde have adopted; a style that allows us to embrace the world, embrace new technologies and investments, and at the same time receive foreign help in solving our problems.
Again Cape Verde has proven to the world that working together is not always a bad thing, that people form different nations can come together and create something great through a tolerant and welcoming atmosphere - after all Cape Verdeans are a product of a rich mixture of europeans, africans and some asians that settled the islands centuries ago and built the strong and beautiful culture that we have today.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Why Obama got me excited about Politics
I have to say in my highschool and junior high years I was a bookworm who always saw the news, read newspapers and discussed politics with my friends. It was my favorite thing to follow, my great passion, when I wasn't at track practice, when I wasn't playing soccer, when I was done studying, when I returned to America from my yearly vacations, I was following up with politics, But then something happened; when I saw a politics that ignored the people and the world, I became hopeless and created an apathy to a political system that all of a sudden seemed apathetic to me and the rest of the nation. Therefore I made a promise to myself to stay away from the hopeless and lying world of politics, the world that fights destructive wars and ruins lives instead of creating and strengthening civilizations. These past months I've found a voice in politics that captured my attentionWhen I went to an Obama rally in Boston I was merely giving politics a second chance in my life. After-all I had just become a US citizen, and proudly embraced my responsibility to not only vote for the person responsible to lead me, but also the person who I think will best lead the rest of the nation and in this person I am looking for a great listener, someone who believes in the grassroots approach, someone who brings about the issue of making health care affordable, because it's prices are ridiculous, I'm looking for a leader who puts negotiation, unity and partnership first and doesn't start talking about war and threats to other nations. I'm looking for a leader like Barack Obama. After all a president is supposed to be a diplomat and diplomats of civilized nations should negotiate and create allies instead of wars.
When I see that Hillary Clinton is removing people from her campaign staff, it worries me that a potential leader of the united states can't even be an effective leader within her own campaign. If she can’t work with bettering her campaign workers, and has to replace them, than how can she better the united states and even more importantly what does that say about her readiness to work with the rest of the world.
I have respect for all politicians because there are human and they deserve to be treated respectfully, but this election is about leadership, its about healing the wounds that have been caused, its about changing the failing method of governance in Washington, its about making us an ally of more countries, not about threatening other countries.
Iran:I am surprised that candidates can talk about attacking Iran before they talk about respectfully negotiating or talking to Iran. Obama is the only candidate that has talked about speaking with Iranians, about sitting down with Iran's leaders. This is nothing new in politics, in fact proper leaders of civilizations are the ones who talk, negotiate...after all the US, is not a military state its a Nation, a civilized nation, and instead of making threats that could cause the destruction and death of thousands, we need a president who's going to build peace, and peace is not built with bombs and war. This concerns me because I am a citizen of the world as well, and so is the rest of the nation; therefore it is important to have a government that bridges our gaps with the rest of the world. In this way we can be more powerful and our global economy can serve us better. It will also enhance our safety.
Iraq:because the surge is working does not mean the right thing has been done..It just means that we have successfully occupied a nation against its will, killed thousands, and destroyed families, crushed futures and hopes of millions of Iraqis whom are refugees without a land, without a normal life. We don’t even do anything to help the millions of Iraqi refugees who are homeless and landless. It is something to be ashamed of. The only solution is to leave Iraq, with so many stories of soldiers raping and killing innocent people, with stories of tortures and abuses carried upon Iraqis, I don't think US presence there is necessarily doing any good. And in response to McCain comparing Iraq to North Korea or Germany; Iraq is a different nation, with different demands and they don’t want us there; whether its in peaceful nor in war time, we are destroying our army as well as their nation. And also Foreign military intervention in any war has never proved successful. Obama never voted for this war, never supported it and will end it. Clinton approved for the war even after thousands of Americans went out into the streets protesting against it, Clinton approved a war that so many Americans spoke against. Where was she when the people spoke against the war? is this the leader who we want?...just another Bush..another president who doesn't listen to the people? And of course not listening to the people’s protests leads politicians to make irrational decisions.
Saving America:I want to live in an America that will better heal wounds, create policies at grassroots level, because those are the policies that come directly from the people. I want to live in a country where the government represents the greatness of it's people, I want America saved from the abuses and manipulations of the wealthy few who use fear to brainwash us into sacrificing our lives just so that a few wealthy individuals can get rich. We put money into weapon manufacturers' hands, and some soldiers don't even get all the services they were promised. Some soldiers get discharges even though they suffer from mental effects of wars. Thousands of soldiers have committed suicide or become suicidal because of this war, thousands have gone AWOL, thousands have crossed the border into Canada so that they don't return to the horror of Iraq. What is happening to our nation? What is happening to the America that I believed in?
This is a great nation, we should be proud that we have great and quality leaders such as Barak Obama, a man born and raised in this country and a man who represents the great ideals that make this country great.
When I see that Hillary Clinton is removing people from her campaign staff, it worries me that a potential leader of the united states can't even be an effective leader within her own campaign. If she can’t work with bettering her campaign workers, and has to replace them, than how can she better the united states and even more importantly what does that say about her readiness to work with the rest of the world.
I have respect for all politicians because there are human and they deserve to be treated respectfully, but this election is about leadership, its about healing the wounds that have been caused, its about changing the failing method of governance in Washington, its about making us an ally of more countries, not about threatening other countries.
Iran:I am surprised that candidates can talk about attacking Iran before they talk about respectfully negotiating or talking to Iran. Obama is the only candidate that has talked about speaking with Iranians, about sitting down with Iran's leaders. This is nothing new in politics, in fact proper leaders of civilizations are the ones who talk, negotiate...after all the US, is not a military state its a Nation, a civilized nation, and instead of making threats that could cause the destruction and death of thousands, we need a president who's going to build peace, and peace is not built with bombs and war. This concerns me because I am a citizen of the world as well, and so is the rest of the nation; therefore it is important to have a government that bridges our gaps with the rest of the world. In this way we can be more powerful and our global economy can serve us better. It will also enhance our safety.
Iraq:because the surge is working does not mean the right thing has been done..It just means that we have successfully occupied a nation against its will, killed thousands, and destroyed families, crushed futures and hopes of millions of Iraqis whom are refugees without a land, without a normal life. We don’t even do anything to help the millions of Iraqi refugees who are homeless and landless. It is something to be ashamed of. The only solution is to leave Iraq, with so many stories of soldiers raping and killing innocent people, with stories of tortures and abuses carried upon Iraqis, I don't think US presence there is necessarily doing any good. And in response to McCain comparing Iraq to North Korea or Germany; Iraq is a different nation, with different demands and they don’t want us there; whether its in peaceful nor in war time, we are destroying our army as well as their nation. And also Foreign military intervention in any war has never proved successful. Obama never voted for this war, never supported it and will end it. Clinton approved for the war even after thousands of Americans went out into the streets protesting against it, Clinton approved a war that so many Americans spoke against. Where was she when the people spoke against the war? is this the leader who we want?...just another Bush..another president who doesn't listen to the people? And of course not listening to the people’s protests leads politicians to make irrational decisions.
Saving America:I want to live in an America that will better heal wounds, create policies at grassroots level, because those are the policies that come directly from the people. I want to live in a country where the government represents the greatness of it's people, I want America saved from the abuses and manipulations of the wealthy few who use fear to brainwash us into sacrificing our lives just so that a few wealthy individuals can get rich. We put money into weapon manufacturers' hands, and some soldiers don't even get all the services they were promised. Some soldiers get discharges even though they suffer from mental effects of wars. Thousands of soldiers have committed suicide or become suicidal because of this war, thousands have gone AWOL, thousands have crossed the border into Canada so that they don't return to the horror of Iraq. What is happening to our nation? What is happening to the America that I believed in?
This is a great nation, we should be proud that we have great and quality leaders such as Barak Obama, a man born and raised in this country and a man who represents the great ideals that make this country great.
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