Armando Zeferino Soares
Encyclopedia
Armando Zeferino Soares, (1920 in São Nicolau, Cape Verde
- April 3, 2007) was a Capeverdean
composer
, author of the famous song Sodade. He was born in Praia Branca in the island of São Nicolau and worked there as a salesman.
He had several disputes due to the authorship of Sodade with other composers, including Amândio Cabral and Luís Morais. Finally on December 2006, the court declared Armando Soares the author of the famous song. He told the newspaper A Semana
that he created the music in the 1950s in a farewell celebration to a group of friends that embarked for São Tomé e Príncipe.
, mainly after the interpretation of Cesária Évora
but also with the aid of a lot of other Capeverdean and foreign singers. Sodade became an unofficial anthem of the islands of saudade
.
Sodade describes with great simplicity the dilemma of Capeverdean emigrants'
suffering, specially the ones who were hired to work (almost as slaves
) in the cocoa and coffee
plantations of São Tomé e Príncipe.
Here is the song written in the São Vicente Crioulo:
Quem mostra' bo
Ess caminho longe?
Ess caminho
Pa Sã Tomé
Sodade
Dess nha terra d’Sã Nicolau
Si bô 'screvê' me
'M ta 'screvê be
Si bô 'squecê me
'M ta 'squecê be
Até dia
Qui bô voltá
(Armando Zeferino Soares, Sodade (excerpt))
English translation:
Who told you
Of this distant path?
This path
To São Tomé
Sodade (impossible to translate in a single word, see Saudade
)
Of my homeland of São Nicolau
If you write me
I'll write you
If you forget me
I'll forget you
'Till the day
You come back
(Armando Zeferino Soares, Sodade (excerpt translations))
Cape Verde
The Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...
- April 3, 2007) was a Capeverdean
Cape Verde
The Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...
composer
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
, author of the famous song Sodade. He was born in Praia Branca in the island of São Nicolau and worked there as a salesman.
He had several disputes due to the authorship of Sodade with other composers, including Amândio Cabral and Luís Morais. Finally on December 2006, the court declared Armando Soares the author of the famous song. He told the newspaper A Semana
A Semana
A Semana is a weekly Cape Verdean daily that covers its top stories in the archipelago and local stories ranging from each island. A Semana is located in the Cape Verdean capital city of Praia and is one of the most circulated newspapers and dailies in Cape Verde...
that he created the music in the 1950s in a farewell celebration to a group of friends that embarked for São Tomé e Príncipe.
Sodade
The song Sodade turned out to be emblematic to Cape Verde and its cultureCulture of Cape Verde
The culture of Cape Verde features literature including Claridade, Negrume and others and writers including Sergio Frusoni, Manuel Lopes, Ovídio Martins and more. The culture also has music proprieties including morna, funaná, coladera, tabanka and more...
, mainly after the interpretation of Cesária Évora
Cesária Évora
Cesária Évora is a Cape Verdean popular singer. Nicknamed the "barefoot diva" for performing without shoes, Évora is perhaps the best internationally known practitioner of "morna."-Early life:...
but also with the aid of a lot of other Capeverdean and foreign singers. Sodade became an unofficial anthem of the islands of saudade
Saudade
Saudade ) is a unique Galician-Portuguese word that has no immediate translation in English. Saudade describes a deep emotional state of nostalgic longing for an absent something or someone that one loves. It often carries a repressed knowledge that the object of longing might never return...
.
Sodade describes with great simplicity the dilemma of Capeverdean emigrants'
Emigration
Emigration is the act of leaving one's country or region to settle in another. It is the same as immigration but from the perspective of the country of origin. Human movement before the establishment of political boundaries or within one state is termed migration. There are many reasons why people...
suffering, specially the ones who were hired to work (almost as slaves
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
) in the cocoa and coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
plantations of São Tomé e Príncipe.
Here is the song written in the São Vicente Crioulo:
Quem mostra' bo
Ess caminho longe?
Ess caminho
Pa Sã Tomé
Sodade
Dess nha terra d’Sã Nicolau
Si bô 'screvê' me
'M ta 'screvê be
Si bô 'squecê me
'M ta 'squecê be
Até dia
Qui bô voltá
(Armando Zeferino Soares, Sodade (excerpt))
English translation:
Who told you
Of this distant path?
This path
To São Tomé
Sodade (impossible to translate in a single word, see Saudade
Saudade
Saudade ) is a unique Galician-Portuguese word that has no immediate translation in English. Saudade describes a deep emotional state of nostalgic longing for an absent something or someone that one loves. It often carries a repressed knowledge that the object of longing might never return...
)
Of my homeland of São Nicolau
If you write me
I'll write you
If you forget me
I'll forget you
'Till the day
You come back
(Armando Zeferino Soares, Sodade (excerpt translations))
External links
- Information from A Semana (in Portuguese)
- Information from Voz di Povo Online (in Portuguese)