São Nicolau Island, culture, and family, roots

 

Easter, Caleijon, April 2022

Recording the Easter experience was the mission while diving deep in our Cape Verdean roots, listening young people and residents talking about the festivities and noticing how relations with their family and community are going.

It is possible to feel the absence of young people in the locality, especially women, their sadness at the loss of residents limited by the drought, the crisis and all the collapse that the pandemic brought is remarkable, they were always creating dialogues with each other, they strengthened the pride of their origin , highlight strengths and work on organizing cultural activities in the multipurpose area, with a band, a play, parades and an exhibition of handicrafts made by women and men in the community.

The land of Baltasar Lopes, has been hit by drought and rural exodus, but Bia de Marré Ptxininhe in Preguiça's village is known for the love to her family, her land and her animals. Easter is one of the celebrations that Bia looks forward to come. In São Nicolau, she makes a point of inviting people through the popular community radio to try the accordion that she is happy to prepare, showing the knowledge and flavors around cachupa de Sanfana, a typical and traditional dish of the region based on corn and goat meat and viscera. The firewood of the good one, burns intensely and lastingly, specially arranged by the brother so that it could cook well, which could resist the necessary time for the symbiosis to be perfect and precise, the house will be lively these days.

One day before, the different transformations of the corn are presented on the table, in different containers, the cooked corn from the cachupa de sanfana is smelling so good, spends about 4 hours on a burning ember, the largest quantity goes to the fire on Saturday night, as soon as visitors arrives there will be a beautiful “cold d catxupa” a soap to serve those who come from far away, broken, boiled and pounded, Bia's eyes are full of memories and emotions that she manages to keep from the pompous meal that she prepares with care thinking “food for every one whos come” and repeats in his mind, our guests are starting to arrive, we must be ready to receive them.

Cabo Verde Specialist, São Nicolau 2022