Sodade

Sodade is a Capeverdean slow coladeira song written in the 1950s by Armando Zeferino Soares, and best popularized by Cesaria Evora on her 1992 album Miss Perfumado. The name is the Capeverdean variant of the Portuguese saudade.

The authorship of the song was contested between the composers Armando Zeferino Soares, notably by the duo Amândio Cabral and Luís Morais, until a court ruled on December 2006 that Soares was the author.

Background

Sodade describes with great simplicity the nostalgia experienced by Cape Verdeans emigrants' who have been seafarers and emigrants for centuries. Cape Verdeans have been voluntarily migrating from Cape Verde to every continent, since as early 1800s. The earliest recorded migration of Cape Verdeans was to New England, because they were recruited as whalers for their exceptional seafaring skills as whalers and whale captains. This started the trend of voluntary immigration of Cape Verdeans to New England, as well as opened doors for future migration during periods of drought and following independence from Portugal.