São Vicente Paisagens

 Landscapes of São Vicente 

My colleagues and friends from the Pedro Pires Institute for Cape Verdean Studies at my university recently asked me to collaborate in the development of a travel course to São Vicente, one of the ten major islands of Cape Verde. The course would be an exploration environmental geography, linguistics, and of course music. We had recently completed a very successful course about coffee on the island of Fogo, so I eagerly accepted the invitation and we have begun our planning. 

(Note: I always have extra energy for planning future courses, especially travel courses!)

As with all of Cape Verde's islands, São Vicente is young (geologically speaking) and originated as a hotspot volcano. It is considered inactive, meaning that it has not erupted since the emergence of humans.

Map source: Natural Hazards in Sao Vicente (Cabo Verde) by Bruno Martins et al

As the caption indicates, the elevation map above is from an article about the hazards found on the island; these include various kinds of erosion that are made more likely by the interactions of topography, soil structure, and climate. 

Our course will examine those erosion risks and other climate-related risks common to small islands. and will also focus on the marine ecology of surrounding waters. We will explore both the threats to that ecology and the admirable work being done to protect it, particularly through the efforts of our friends at Biosfera in Mindelo. The work of Biosfera is a major part of A Tale of Two Capes, an online museum exhibition completed by Carolyn King, a recent BSU graduate. 

The other partner in the travel course will be Dr. João Rosa, an accomplished linguist who first proposed this collaboration. He has some interesting ideas about the interaction between Portuguese and Cape Verdean Creole (Kriolu) that he wants to explore in a geographic context. Linguistics was my area of study before I became a geographer and I completed a course in Kriolu with Dr. Rosa a few years ago. So I am very excited to explore the island with him through a linguistic lens.

Music is an important part of cultural geography everywhere, but it seems especially to be the case in Cape Verde, where each island is home both to several distinct musical traditions and to a variety of contemporary artists. Among the former morna is probably the most important genre, and Mindelo was the home of Cesária Évora, its most important performer. We will certainly be making the most of the opportunity to visit her home island.

Among the latter are producers of music videos who really help geography learners by their rich incorporation of the cultural landscape. One example is Khaly Angel and his 2022 production Mindel (Mindelo -- below); another is Ariah by Jenifer Solidade.

We are very fortunate indeed that our other collaborator in offering this course is Angelo Barbosa, who directs our Pedro Pires Institute for Cape Verdean Studies and who also has helped to create the definitive museum of Cape Verdean music, which is fully online.