CARMEN SOUZA SERVES THE APPETIZER

Portuguese-Cape Verdean Carmen Souza took to the stage at Cineteatro Louletano last Saturday for a concert integrated into the final presentation of the MED’25 Festival, and is the first confirmation for the 2026 Edition.

In front of a full house and with the presence of the large Cape Verdean community living in Loulé, the artist brought mornas, funanás, more jazzy sounds, blues and even Zeca Afonso.

In this show, Souza performed several themes from “Port’ Inglês”, her most recent work, born from her master’s thesis, and which tells the forgotten stories of the marks left on Cape Verdean culture by the British presence in the country. Songs in Portuguese, Creole and English that personify this historical period. The album, nominated for the German Record Critics Awards in the Best World Music Album category, investigates themes of cultural identity, resistance, colonialism and decolonization, highlighting the connection between Cape Verde and the United Kingdom.

In the year in which Cape Verde is the ‘Guest Country’ of the MED Festival, Carmen Souza had the honor of being the first artist to bring music from this archipelago in the Atlantic. And she did it in the best way possible, with an enthusiastic audience, dancing at times, or singing. In the last song, a reinterpretation of “Venham mais Cinco”, by Zeca Afonso, a choir of voices joined Carmen Souza, without a doubt a strong name in Cape Verde and World Music.

‘See you in 2026!’, she said at the end of the show. A ‘see you soon’ to the public of Loulé who will be able to see her again, in June 2026, in the Historic Area of ​​Loulé.