Oral presentation – Country stereotypes

The country we chose was Cape Verde, because it is Andrea's country and as she is a new student in the class, we
thought it would be interesting to make her origins better known.

Cape Verde, officially the Republic of Cape Verde, is an island country located in an archipelago in the central Atlantic
Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands.

In Cape Verde the official language is Portuguese, but among the population they also speak Criolo.

The Cape Verde archipelago was discovered in 1460 by Italian and Portuguese navigators. Santiago was the most
favorable island for the occupation and that is why settlement began there in 1462.

Given their strategic position, on the routes that linked Europe, Africa and Brazil, the islands served as a trading and
supply post, with particular emphasis on the slave trade. Soon, the archipelago became a center of concentration
and dispersion of men, plants and animals.

With the abolition of the slave trade and the constant deterioration of climatic conditions, Cape Verde fell into decay
and began to live with a poor subsistence economy.

Free Europeans and slaves from the African coast merged into a single people, Cape Verdean, with its own way of
being and living, and Creole emerged as the language of the mostly mestizo community.

After all this phase Cape Verde gained independence and managed to make this situation stop happening.

Regarding Cape Verdean culture, they have a very varied diet.

Cape Verde's diet is mainly based on fish and staple foods such as corn and rice. Vegetables available for most of the
year are potatoes, onions, tomatoes, cassava, cabbage and dried beans. Fruits such as bananas and papayas are
available year-round, while others, such as mangoes and avocados, are seasonal.

A popular dish served in Cape Verde is cachupa, a corn, bean and fish or meat stew. A common appetizer is pastel,
usually filled with meat or fish.

The Cape Verdean people are known for their musicality, well expressed by popular manifestations such as the
Mindelo Carnival, whose importance makes the city known in the days of momesco festivities as "Brazilim". In music,
there are different musical genres, including morna, funaná, coladeira and batuque.

To get into the rhythm, let’s play a funana song for you to listen to.

Like all countries, Cape Verde is also a stereotyped country.

Most people associate the country with extreme poverty, as in movies and series, Cabeverdians are usually barefot
and wearing very humble clothes, some with bare torso.
Regarding education, there is the idea that schools are in terrible condition, walls are falling, there are no tables and
chairs, bad teachers, ...

Like schools, houses are also considered poor, without conditions and comfort.

In addition to all these aspects, these people are very welcoming, friendly, humble, honest, ... They are also very
happy people, all of them have an aptitude for dancing.

I was born in Cape Verde, I came to Portugal when I was seven years old, but I have a lot of family there. As a Cape
Verdean I will give my testimony about the stereotypes presented. As in all countries there are in need, some richer
and others poorer.

In schools it is as good as we are. They live in homes that are in good condition and are humble. Not everything is as
we see it in movies and series, people dress like us and not like the image of poverty they present. There is a lot of
poverty, but not everyone is hungry as people think.

In conclusion through Andrea's testimony, we can see that some of the stereotypes associated with Cape Verde are
just wrong ideas, they are humble and friendly. As mentioned before, there is indeed poverty, but not everyone is
hungry and living in bad conditions.