"Morabeza in Lisbon" honors Cape Verdean musicians
Sara Alexandra Lima Tavares, known as Sara Tavares, was born in Lisbon on February 1, 1978, and died on November 19, 2023, at the age of 45, in Lisbon.
A singer and songwriter, she started out in soul music and gospel, with her religiosity and Christian faith running throughout. In 1994, at the age of 16, she won the final of the 12th edition of SIC's "Chuva de Estrelas" (Rain of Stars) contest, with a rendition of a Whitney Houston song, which made her popular with the public.
During the first decade of the 21st century, she became even closer to Cape Verde, performing songs in Cape Verdean Creole and establishing contact with artists such as Tito Paris and Paulino Vieira, among others. It was in Lisbon, at the meeting of cultures between Africa and Europe, that she consolidated her artistic identity and achieved a style all her own.
Sara Tavares was an artist who was known for her dedication, simplicity and humility, making music an authentic universal language. With an unusual career and a magical voice, Sara Tavares died too soon. The City of Lisbon therefore wishes to pay tribute to her artistic career, her way of living music and her cultural merit, which greatly contributed to enriching the city's cultural scene.
Adriano Gonçalves, known to all as Bana, was born in Cape Verde on March 5, 1932. He began his career while working for the composer and performer B. Leza. Leza who, noticing his unusual voice, introduced him in 1959 on a tour of São Vicente by the Tuna Académica de Coimbra. Among those responsible for the Tuna at the time were the writer, novelist and journalist Fernando Assis Pacheco and the poet and politician Manuel Alegre, who tried to bring him to Portugal to perform.
an "ambassador" for Cape Verdean music, for being a pioneer in taking it to the four corners of Europe and Africa, Bana was recognized with various decorations and tributes, including being awarded the rank of Officer of the Order of Merit of Portugal in 1992.
He died on July 13, 2013, after a career spanning more than 60 years, having released more than half a hundred LPs and EPs, both as a group and as a solo artist, and having taken part in four films, two French, one German and one Portuguese-Cape Verdean.
Daniel Rocha e Silva, known as Dany Silva, is a Cape Verdean musician, singer and songwriter. He was born in 1947 in Praia, Cape Verde.
When he began his solo career, he recorded the well-known hit "Branco, Tinto e Jeropiga", the first song he recorded in Portuguese and which made him known in Portuguese-speaking countries.
He has collaborated with Portuguese musicians on several occasions, including participation in the "Triângulo Atlântico" project with Pepe Ordás and Vitorino Salomé and in the soundtrack for the soap opera "Filha do Mar" with Mafalda Veiga and Dina. He has recorded several albums in Creole, including duets with Sérgio Godinho and Carlos do Carmo.
An essential reference for Cape Verdean music in the cultural panorama of Portuguese-speaking countries, Dany Silva celebrated forty years of solo career in 2019.
The Municipal Medal of Merit of the City of Lisbon aims to distinguish natural or legal persons, national or foreign, whose actions have brought notable benefits to the City of Lisbon, improved the living conditions of its population, developed or disseminated its art, disseminated or deepened its history, or others of notable importance that justify this recognition.
"Morabeza in Lisbon", a tribute to Cape Verdean music and musicians, brought together artists such as Nancy Vieira, Dany Silva, Cremilda Medina, Cristina Clara, Leonel Almeida, Armindo Tito and Kady at the Capitólio theater on July 30. Cape Verdean music, "marked by an exuberant diversity of rhythms and styles", also recalled local expressions such as funaná, morna and coladeira.