Afro-Portuguese Café

Known as "the barefoot diva," Cape Verdean singer Cesaria Evora has turned her love for the blues-like morna into a global phenomenon. A pioneering orchestra, Simentera strives to rescue the rich legacy of Afro-Portuguese music from oblivion. Angola's Waldemar Bastos combines African pop with the longing of Portuguese fado.

Following the dazzling success of Cesaria Evora, a number of young female vocalists have emerged as successors to the diva's throne. Born in Portugal of Cape Verdean descent, the sultry Lura and the luminous Sara Tavares are not to be missed. A veteran pop star from Angola, Bonga uses his lyrics to convincingly voice his pacifist credo.

The richness of Afro-Portuguese music is such that even the deepest corner of our café includes earth-shattering tracks like "Situacoes Triangulares" by Cesaria Evora collaborator Bau, the melancholy "Morrinha" by veteran guitarist Dany Silva, and "Canta Cabo Verde" by saudade master Teofilo Chantre.

The legacy of Portuguese colonialism has created a subtle but profound musical link between distant African countries such as Cape Verde, Angola, and Mozambique. At the Afro-Portuguese Café, artists like singer/songwriter Waldemar Bastos and the incomparable Cape Verdean diva Cesaria Evora soothe our souls with a sophisticated blend of African pop, Portuguese poetry, and the distant echoes of Brazilian music. Intensely sorrowful yet deeply hopeful at the same time, these sweet songs offer a celebration of life.