Lura Comes From the Country: Caboverdian Song Has a New Face (and a Magical Dance)
Lura one of the greatest Caboverdian Atists is touring California
She throws in a little R&B as a nod to her own generation. The songs on Lura's second North American release trace a journey through rural Caboverdian life.
"The place my family came from is a recent discovery for me and I fell in love with the islands. It is very important to have someone sing our thoughts we are rich in music, culture, rhythms. I try to sing the little things of the daily routine, the beautiful things, the simple things."
Music is an essential part of daily life, marking a variety of occasions with different flavors for each island. "There are many rhythms that drive the music in Cabo-Verde: funana, batuku, mazurka. There are ten different islands here, all with their different, unique rhythms. I wasn't from one single island, my parents came from Santiago and São Vicente, and so I take the freedom to explore all the rhythms!"
The title song draws on the funana beat of these people from the countryside. "They're simple, normal folk, who are clear in thought and say what they think, without a lot of unnecessary, beautiful words."
"Bida Mariadu" reflects on t he l imitations of living on a semi-arid string of islands hundreds of miles from the mainland of Africa. "It sometimes seems that there are no opportunities to tudy, to go out and find a better living the people are trying to better themselves, trying to work, trying to find money it can be very difficult."
The fortune of the islands is directly tied to what is usually considered a harbinger of gloom: the rainy day. In "As-Água," Lura sings of the people waiting for the rain to return. "There is a time in June when you prepare the ground to receive the rain in August. This song is about an August with no rain people are waiting for rain, but it does not come. With rain, everyone is happy, working in the earth, there is food. When there is no rain, everyone is sad. There are fish (we're surrounded by ocean), but nothing can grow from the ground without agua."
It's not all cloudless skies with gloom in Cabo Verde. Midsummer's Day is marked every June 24th with rituals and celebrations. "Romaria" embodies the mbience of a huge street party, where there's singing, dancing, and lots of food. "Everyone is looking forward to the growing season that's coming," explains Lura.
Parties can bring out the wild side of anyone and on "Fitiço di F unana" Lura sings of the magic that can happen with a dance. "When a very sensual woman is dancing funana to seduce a man, she maybe has a fitiço in her body," says Lura. "A kind of voodoo magic." Anyone who has seen Lura dance knows what she is saying. That magic may not be exactly what mom and dad hoped for if they have dreams of their child marrying well and leaving Cabo Verde for a better life.
"'Ponciana' is about a girl whose future seems compromised. Her mother raised her to marry an immigrant so that she could move to Europe and a better life," explains Lura. "But the girl fell in love with a very poor man in Cabo Verde. There's no rich husband, but the daughter and her Caboverdian lover are very happy! The lesson is that love wins every time."
Dreams can take a route unplanned and what may seem like a diversion can be your true path. Lura was studying to be a teacher, but she longed to be a dancer. "At age 17, I was going into sports education to teach swimming. There was this very good African dancer in Lisbon, Juka.He gave dance lessons near my home and I joined his class. He invited me to sing, because he was working on his first album and was searching for backing singers. I had never sung before, in school choir nothing. Singing backup with him became a duet. The duet was very popular, and I was a backup singer and dancer with him in Portugal and Angola. Other African singers asked me to sing with them and then I realized I could be a dancer and singer, showing the world the Caboverdian melodies and rhythms I was growing to love."
If t he prosperity of the islands hangs on the whims of the weather, the true treasure of Cabo Verde is solidly the artistry of the people living there. "Cabo Verde may be very poor but we have a very full and rich culture," says Lura. "On 'No Bem Falá', the important people of Cabo Verde are named. The many poets, singers, and songwriters who make our culture heard around the world."
Lura a caboverdian artist
Lura
Members of Lura's Tour Band, with instruments:
TOY VIEIRA (Antonio Vieira) piano (musical director). AURAS (Aurelio Santos) guitar
Seeing her on stage, you would never know that Portuguese singer Lura is a down-home country girl. "I'm proud of my heritage," declares the performer. "My father and mother were born and grew up in the countryside of Cabo Verde. " Her poised and beguiling performances are worthy of a cosmopolitan diva but her new album M'bem di Fora (I Come from Country Side on Times Square/4Q Records March of he last year, draws on her family's rural roots while revealing a side of Caboverdian music that is new to most North American audiences.
love and wanted to know more about me and my music
Lura has toured extensively in the States and Europe, sharing the music of the island countryside she calls home. "I wasn't sure how the US would receive the music from Cabo Verde that I sing. American music is inspiring they have the best music in the world. But they gave me love and wanted to know more about me and my music." Europe has also embraced Lura's sound and in 2006 she was nominated for BBC Radio's Planet Awards in the categories of Best African Artist and Best Newcomer.
The history of Cabo Verde is one of immigration and return. In spite of her family's search for better fortune in another country, Lura's own journey brought her right back to the people and rhythms of the land they left. Now Cabo Verde's rising star brings her island roots to world stages reaffirming to the world the archipelago's unexpected rich musical heritage.
Lura has toured extensively in the States and Europe, sharing the music of the island countryside she calls home. "I wasn't sure how the US would receive the music from Cabo Verde that I sing. American music is inspiring they have the best music in the world. But they gave me
Directions:
The Herbst Theatre is located inside the War Memorial Veterans Building at
401 Van Ness Avenue at McAllister Street.
If you are traveling from the South Bay or Peninsula
Take 101 North to the 9th Street Exit.
At the end of the exit ramp, turn left onto 9th St.
Continue northbound across Market Street. You are now on Larkin Street.
At the third traffic light turn left onto McAllister.
Continue two blocks to Van Ness Avenue and turn left.
From the East Bay
Take I-80 West, via the Bay Bridge to the 9th Street/Civic Center Exit
Stay right on the exit ramp. Turn left onto Harrison Street.
Turn right onto 9th St.
Continue northbound across Market Street. You are now on Larkin Street.
At the third traffic light turn left onto McAllister.
Continue two blocks to Van Ness Avenue and turn left.
From the North Bay
Cross the Golden Gate Bridge.
Follow the signs to Downtown via Lombard St.
Turn right onto Van Ness Avenue.
Continue Southbound to McAllister Street.
Parking:
The Performing Arts Garage - Grove Street between Franklin & Gough Streets (415) 252-8238. Accommodates 616 vehicles, and is open for all performances.
The Civic Center Garage - McAllister Street between Polk and Larkin Streets (415) 863-1537.
Open for most performances.
There are several additional parking areas in the vicinity of the Performing Arts Center.
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