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.