Ildo Lobo
Encyclopedia
Ildo Lobo was a famous Cape Verde
an singer. His versatile and melodic voice, commanding stage presence and trademark beret
hats made him one of the all time great performers of Cape Verde. Always well-known throughout the Cape Verde Islands, Lobo rose to international fame with his first solo work, “Nôs Morna”, following it with another album “Intelectual”.
in the town of Pedra de Lume, where he worked alongside his family in the local salt mines during his youth. When the Cape Verdian salt industry died down, Lobo was forced to find other means of work. Luckily for Lobo, music was his first love. His voice would put him in constant demand at local bars and music festivals.
Lobo's musical talent would eventually place the island of Sal permanently on the Cape Verdian musical map to rival the islands of Santiago, São Vicente and São Nicolau as bonafide origins of Cape Verdian talent.
Lobo consummately mastered most styles of Cape Verdian music, but he was best known on stage for his effortless, soul-stirring mornas. He could also arouse the crowd with his hard-hitting coladeras. Lobo, as an adult, moved to Praia
, Santiago Island (Cape Verde's capital) where he began his career as vocalist of the band Os Tubarões ("The Sharks"). After his stellar multi-album career with Os Tubarões, Lobo launched his solo career with his acclaimed album Nôs Morna.
Like many Cape Verdian musicians of his day, Lobo maintained a full-time job as an airport customs officer despite having a busy traveling concert and studio recording schedule. His last work, Incondicional, was released in October 2004, a few days after his death in Praia at age 51. Most sources state that he died of a heart attack, but some Cape Verdian sources claim that he died of diabetes related complications. Lobo's popularity was such that all public employees in the city of Praia were given the afternoon off to mourn. In his island birthplace, Sal, all government offices were closed and flags were flown at half-staff for three days.
According to worldmusiccentral.com, "Lobo was one of those men whose political message was inseparably linked to the musical expression and poetry of mornas" and the site named Lobo "Cape Verde's Greatest Male Singer". Lobo's death in 2004 sparked mourning throughout the world music scene and throughout the vastly diasporized Cape Verdian population of over 1 million, who, despite living in far away communities in Paris
; Amsterdam
; Lisbon
; Boston
and the American states of New Jersey
, Connecticut
, and Florida
, still maintain close language, cultural and familial bonds to their beloved islands.
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...
an singer. His versatile and melodic voice, commanding stage presence and trademark beret
Beret
A beret is a soft, round, flat-crowned hat, designated a "cap", usually of woven, hand-knitted wool, crocheted cotton, or wool felt, or acrylic fiber....
hats made him one of the all time great performers of Cape Verde. Always well-known throughout the Cape Verde Islands, Lobo rose to international fame with his first solo work, “Nôs Morna”, following it with another album “Intelectual”.
Biography
Lobo was born on the island of SalSal, Cape Verde
Sal is an island in Cape Verde. It belongs to the northern group of islands, called Barlavento. The island is composed by a single administrative division, the Sal municipality. The island is home to Amílcar Cabral International Airport, the main airport of Cape Verde.- Geography :The island is...
in the town of Pedra de Lume, where he worked alongside his family in the local salt mines during his youth. When the Cape Verdian salt industry died down, Lobo was forced to find other means of work. Luckily for Lobo, music was his first love. His voice would put him in constant demand at local bars and music festivals.
Lobo's musical talent would eventually place the island of Sal permanently on the Cape Verdian musical map to rival the islands of Santiago, São Vicente and São Nicolau as bonafide origins of Cape Verdian talent.
Lobo consummately mastered most styles of Cape Verdian music, but he was best known on stage for his effortless, soul-stirring mornas. He could also arouse the crowd with his hard-hitting coladeras. Lobo, as an adult, moved to Praia
Praia
Praia , is the capital and largest city of Cape Verde, an island nation in the Atlantic Ocean west of Senegal. It lies on the southern coast of Santiago island in the Sotavento Islands group. It is the island's ferry port and is home to one of the nation’s four international airports...
, Santiago Island (Cape Verde's capital) where he began his career as vocalist of the band Os Tubarões ("The Sharks"). After his stellar multi-album career with Os Tubarões, Lobo launched his solo career with his acclaimed album Nôs Morna.
Like many Cape Verdian musicians of his day, Lobo maintained a full-time job as an airport customs officer despite having a busy traveling concert and studio recording schedule. His last work, Incondicional, was released in October 2004, a few days after his death in Praia at age 51. Most sources state that he died of a heart attack, but some Cape Verdian sources claim that he died of diabetes related complications. Lobo's popularity was such that all public employees in the city of Praia were given the afternoon off to mourn. In his island birthplace, Sal, all government offices were closed and flags were flown at half-staff for three days.
According to worldmusiccentral.com, "Lobo was one of those men whose political message was inseparably linked to the musical expression and poetry of mornas" and the site named Lobo "Cape Verde's Greatest Male Singer". Lobo's death in 2004 sparked mourning throughout the world music scene and throughout the vastly diasporized Cape Verdian population of over 1 million, who, despite living in far away communities in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
; Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
; Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
; Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
and the American states of New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, and Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, still maintain close language, cultural and familial bonds to their beloved islands.
With Os Tubarões
- Pepe Lopi (1976)
- Tchon di Morgado (1976)
- Djonsinho Cabral (1979)
- Tabanca (1980)
- Tema para dois (1982)
- Os Tubarões (1990)
- Os Tubarões ao vivo ( 1993)
- Porton d’ nôs ilha (1994)
External links
- Official site
- http://www.afrol.com/articles/14604"Cape Verde mourns CreoleCreole languageA creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable natural language developed from the mixing of parent languages; creoles differ from pidgins in that they have been nativized by children as their primary language, making them have features of natural languages that are normally missing from...
singer Ildo Lobo" at afrol News] - "Ildo Lobo, Cape Verde's Greatest Male Singer Passed Away" at World Music Central
- performance on youtube.com