This is the first post in Musical Passport’s series spotlighting musical genres from around the world.
I often dive into music somewhat blindly. In the days of CD stores I often picked CDs when the cover called to me, and I would branch out from there. Nowadays, to find new music I spiral down into the depths of the internet, and sometimes I take what The Algorhythm gives me.
Several years ago, this album made it’s way into my attention:
At the time, I didn’t know who Lura was, where she was from, what language she was singing in, nor the genre of music, but when I tell you I fell in love– wow did I fall in love.
I was listening to this album non-stop, twirling around my kitchen as I cooked, swaying as it played in my car, making all my friends listen to it…. and so began my romance with this versitile, magical, emotional genre of music, Morna.
Morna is the national music of the island nation of Cabo Verde, off the coast of western Africa:
Several of my favorite musicians— many of whom I’ve featured on Musical Passport — are Cape Verdean. There is something musically magical about this group of islands in the Atlantic.
Morna music is deeply emotional, and you don’t have to speak Kriolu to feel it.
This music moves you, entrances you— sometimes in that slow, rich way, like warm honey; sometimes it lifts your spirit up and makes you wish you were dancing with a sexy partner around a crowded bar with the band playing in the corner and the warm, night air enveloping you just as the music does. Maybe that’s just me.
One of my favorite Cape Verdean singers is Lucibela; she covers the entire emotional range of Morna and I love to get lost in her smooth voice:
Of course, it’s impossible to speak about the music of Cabo Verde without mentioning the Queen of Morna herself, the late, great Cesária Évora.
Also known as The Barefoot Diva, and often endearingly called simply Cize, Cesária entranced audiences all over the world and brought Morna out of Cabo Verde to be appreciated worldwide. I love her whole vibe. Sometimes she kicks off her shoes, singing barefoot, or lights up a cigarette on stage. She wasn’t discovered until she was 47, but she brought so much amazing music to us between then and her passing in 2011.
Morna is a truly special, unique, and important genre of music, and in 2019, UNESCO agreed, deeming the genre a World Heritage. A great source of pride for Cape Verde.
There are pockets of Cape Verdean communities in different parts of the world—Portugal, France, parts of West Africa and South America— where you can walk into a crowded bar at night and see people dancing close to the sounds of Morna.
I’m forever grateful that Lura’s beautiful voice found its way to me, and introduced me to this rich and beautiful Cape Verdean gift to the world, Morna.
Musical Passport 