{"id":108884,"date":"2022-06-20T16:37:11","date_gmt":"2022-06-20T14:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/?p=108884"},"modified":"2022-06-20T18:10:40","modified_gmt":"2022-06-20T16:10:40","slug":"mario-marta-cape-verde","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/mario-marta-cape-verde\/","title":{"rendered":"M\u00e1rio Marta, a living love letter to Cape Verde"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">PAM met M\u00e1rio Marta for the 2022 Atlantic Music Expo in Praia, Cape Verde where the singer performed his contagiously positive new album <em>Ser de Luz <\/em>and wowed us with his jubilant personality.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">M\u00e1rio Marta is tall, round and handsome. He\u2019s the type of artist that writes love songs to elu\u00adsive whales us\u00ading their mat\u00ading calls and sings with a vo\u00adcal range that is as wide as his con\u00adta\u00adgious smile. Embodying the form of a happy Buddha, he received a prophecy of an early death as a child but laughs it off with uncanny zen. A healer of the feet of Cape Verde\u2019s barefooted diva; M\u00e1rio is the kind of character books are made for. Af\u00adter a chat he\u2019ll give you a solemn look and wave you in for a big-hearted hug that lasts a full 60 sec\u00adonds. \u201c<em>When\u2019s the last time you\u2019ve had a hug like that?<\/em>\u201d He asks after releasing me. Before I could an\u00adswer, he pokes a plump fin\u00adger into my chest and says, \u201c<em>the an\u00adswer is nev\u00ader!<\/em>\u201d followed, of course, by his joy\u00adous chor\u00adtle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Born to a Guinea-Bis\u00adsau father and a Cape Verdean mother, M\u00e1rio\u2019s mu\u00adsi\u00adcal\u00adi\u00adty was a given. From un\u00adcles to cousins, mu\u00adsic was al\u00adways around. The lu\u00adso\u00adphone dirges of An\u00adgo\u00adla and Brazil, Guinea-Bis\u00adsau and Cape Verde were the sound\u00adtrack to his child\u00adhood. \u201c<em>We need to re\u00addis\u00adcov\u00ader this music<\/em>\u201d he declares nostalgically. M\u00e1rio cer\u00adtain\u00adly hasn\u2019t for\u00adgotten. He\u2019s ded\u00adi\u00adcat\u00aded his craft to bring\u00ading new life to coladeira, batuku, morna, funan\u00e1 and the rest of Cape Verde\u2019s musical patrimony. A part time cake design\u00ader, M\u00e1rio is hop\u00ading that his new mu\u00adsi\u00adcal projects can help him fo\u00adcus on this mis\u00adsion full time.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Though M\u00e1rio\u2019s mu\u00adsic doesn\u2019t have the typical maudlin hue of Cape Verde\u2019s fa\u00admous mor\u00adnas. His mu\u00adsic is joy\u00adous and op\u00adti\u00admistic, an is\u00adland groove that sways in the sun-tint\u00aded breeze of the At\u00adlantic Ocean. \u201c<em>We are all cat\u00adalyz\u00aders, like ra\u00addios, we can sync up to the fre\u00adquen\u00adcy we choose.<\/em>\u201d M\u00e1rio ex\u00adplains, \u201c<em>and I chose joy<\/em>.\u201d The ra\u00addi\u00adant look on his face is in itself con\u00advinc\u00ading. His happy sway onstage and jubilant fans in the crowd are more evidence of his ebullient synchronization. Not to mention tracks like \u201cP\u00e9 Di Campo\u201d off his 2021 album <em>Ser de Luz<\/em> that pull at lip\u2019s end for even the gloomiest listener. Or the cheekier award winning single \u201cBoa\u201d from 2020.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"M\u00e1rio Marta - Boa (Music Video)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bs1C5ez0IYk?feature=oembed&#038;autoplay=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption>M\u00e1rio Marta &#8211; Boa (Music Video)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Ser de Luz<\/em> itself translates to \u201cBeing of Light\u201d.&nbsp; Not only does M\u00e1rio see himself as a custodian of Cape Verde\u2019s musical legacy, but as a \u201ccurador\u201d, or healer, with a duty to heal those in need. \u201c<em>When I see some\u00adone who is sad, I have the instinct to go and touch them,<\/em>\u201d he explains, placing his round hand on my knee as an example. Strangely, there is a comfort in the weighty touch of M\u00e1rio\u2019s good intent. His healing was also applied to the late great <a href=\"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/tag\/cesaria-evora\/\">C\u00e9saria Evora<\/a>, Cape Verdean icon and morna legend.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>M\u00e1rio describes the period in his life when C\u00e9saria stayed at his family home in Sao Vicente. \u201c<em>It was an extraordinary moment. Today I know, but back then I didn\u2019t realize it,<\/em>\u201d he says, always smiling. M\u00e1rio describes how he and his cousin would heal her wounded feet and try to bring light to her darker moments. This was a time before M\u00e1rio knew he wanted to be a professional singer. C\u00e9saria, perhaps knowing something he didn\u2019t, brought him into the fold. \u201c<em>There were a lot of moments where I\u2019d be sleeping and she would come and tap me&#8221; <\/em>M\u00e1rio pantomimes,<em> &#8220;to wake me up and sing with her<\/em>.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now M\u00e1rio is working with UNESCO on a tour across Europe to perform a capella mornas as a preservation project. If successful, M\u00e1rio hopes to expand the effort to the other genres he\u2019s picked up from his heritage. \u201c<em>I want to eternalize it, bring it to today,<\/em>\u201d M\u00e1rio says. Hoping specifically to find a new place in the hearts of young people across the world. In M\u00e1rio\u2019s eyes everyone is this being of light he describes, and this music is his way of shining. Moving about M\u00e1rio appears the perfect ambassador for the job, a walking love letter to Cape Verde.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Listen to <em><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/album\/3fBdvxNgWIyQpgAOjnH1RH\">Ser de Luz<\/a><\/em> out now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/mario-marta-ser-de-muz.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-108887\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/mario-marta-ser-de-muz.jpeg 640w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/mario-marta-ser-de-muz-100x100.jpeg 100w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/mario-marta-ser-de-muz-465x465.jpeg 465w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/mario-marta-ser-de-muz-375x375.jpeg 375w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/mario-marta-ser-de-muz-200x200.jpeg 200w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/mario-marta-ser-de-muz-85x85.jpeg 85w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/mario-marta-ser-de-muz-73x73.jpeg 73w\" sizes=\"(min-width:1010px) 759px,100vw\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>PAM met M\u00e1rio Marta for the 2022 Atlantic Music Expo in Praia, Cape Verde where the singer performed his contagiously positive new album Ser de Luz and wowed us with his jubilant personality. M\u00e1rio Marta [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":108922,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7833],"tags":[40893],"location":[7918],"yst_prominent_words":[10759,10753,10758,21459,10788,8542,9051],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108884"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/52"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108884\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108884"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=108884"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=108884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}