The Festival de Baía das Gatas or the Baía das Gatas Festival and the Baía das Gatas Music Festival takes place on a full moon weekend in August in Baía das Gatas, a village and a bay in the northeastern part of the island of São Vicente, Cape Verde. It is the most popular music festival in Cape Verde and are likely being the first, in its early years, it was the only music festival in the country until the Festival de Gamboa which was established in 1992 in Praia in the island of Santiago. It is nicknamed the

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock. Billed as "an Aq ...

of Africa.

History

The festival was created in 1984 by musician and composer

Vasco Martins Vasco Martins is a Cape Verdean musician and composer. Born in Queluz, Portugal, in 1956, he lives now in Calhau, Cape Verde. Biography Self-taught, he began his studies in 1974. He was a member of the band Colá in 1976, but then went to Por ...

and his friends, it was done at a budget of 180 thousand escudos and equipment limited to 150 watts., also it was founded by

Djô d'Eloy Djô d'Eloy born Adolfo de Jon Xalino (May 21, 1953, June 4, 2005) was a Cape Verdean singer, composer and guitarist. He belonged to the Xalino family of singers. His greatest singles included " Arriola" and " Grandeza", both appeared in the al ...

whose actual name was José Rodrigues Silva In the first year, musicians came from

Mindelo Mindelo is a port cityCabo Verde, Statistical Yearbook ...

, it would draw people from other islands in Cape Verde and the diaspora. In the 1990s, foreigners and outsiders would visit the festival. Since that time, the budget has increased twenty times and more than 15,000 people took part each year. The most popular guest was

Cesária Évora Cesária Évora GCIH (; 27 August 194117 December 2011), more commonly known as Cize, was a Cape Verdean singer-songwriter. She received a Grammy Award in 2004 for her album ''Voz d'Amor''. Nicknamed the "Barefoot Diva" for performing without ...

, native of the island, the greatest contributor to the event.

Manuel de Novas Manuel d' Novas (February 24, 1938 — September 28, 2009) was a Cape Verdean poet and composer. Biography Manuel Jesus Lopes was born in Penha da França, one of the neighbourhoods of Ribeira Grande on the island of Santo Antão, he became on ...

appeared several times, his most notable was in 2003. The 28th edition held in 2012 had several artists including Val and his son

Roberto The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

singing songs in memory of Cesária Évora, the greatest Cape Verdean singer. In 2004, a documentary film directed by Alexis Tsafas titled ''The Music Cape'' was released and is about the music festival that went in Baia das Gatas up to 2004.

Organization

The festival takes part in a full moon weekend in August and is held for three days. It is organized by the island mayor, unlike other music festivals, the admissions are free. Music events are complemented with horse racing, water sports and dances and the election of "Miss Baía".

Media

In recent years, parts of the music festival are broadcast on TCV.

Years

The following is a list of selected festival that featured famous musicians: *1984 (1st) -

and his friends,

*2003 (19th) -

*2006 (20th) - Cesaria Évora, Melodi from Angola *2007 (21st) -

Boss AC Ângelo César do Rosário Firmino, better known by the stage name Boss AC (born January 20, 1975) is a Portuguese rapper originally from Cape Verde. The letters A and C, in Boss AC, come from the initials of his two names, Ângelo and César, re ...

, Livity. *2011 (27th) *2012 (28th) -

Val Xalino Val Xalino (born August 19, 1953) is a Capeverdean singer and producer who currently resides in Gothenburg, Sweden. He is the father of the Cape Verdean singer and producer Robert Xalino. Biography Val Xalino was born in Mindelo on the island o ...

and his son

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

Notes

External links

Festival de Baia das Gatas at Mindelo Infos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Festival de Baia das Gatas Culture of São Vicente, Cape Verde Cape Verdean music African festivals 1984 establishments in Cape Verde