In Brockton, the '11th island' celebrates Cape Verde's 50th year of independence

Boston Globe

2 days ago

Moises Rodrigues, 64, at-large city councilor of Brockton who helped organize the festival, said it helps bring people together and raise awareness of Cape Verdean culture.
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Setting up on the concourse, Anna Aduayi dresses a mannequin with imported fashions from Nigeria at the annual Cape Verdean Day Festival in Brockton Rox Stadium.
Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff
'A lot of people have no idea who we are or where we come from,' Rodrigues said, 'but this festival has expanded so that folks of other ethnicities come to it, too.'
Rodrigues who was born in Cape Verde, was living in Angola — another former Portuguese colony — when Cape Verde gained independence.
'A lot of people thought the country wouldn't survive because it doesn't have a great deal of natural resources,' Rodrigues said. 'But it's been an example nation for Africa. It ranks high on democracy and literacy rates compared to the rest of the continent.'
Around 19 percent of Brockton's 100,000 residents are of Cape Verdean descent,
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The diaspora began settling in New Bedford as early as the 1800s when Cape Verdean men crossed the Atlantic Ocean on ships to work in the whaling industry, fleeing poverty and drought in their homeland, according to a
There was a second wave of immigration after 1975,
Rodrigues was a part of that second wave of immigration, after coming to the United States at 16 with his immediate family. He remembers being one of five Cape Verdeans students in Brockton High School's class of 1980. Rodrigues also has roots in New England that go further back. In the 1930s, his great grandfather came to the U.S. to work on the Bourne Bridge.
Rodrigues said that the festival originally started in the 1990s at City Hall Plaza.
'It was a small gathering at first because it was a recognition day, but Cape Verdeans can't do anything without food and music,' Rodrigues said, 'so it grew bigger and bigger.'
Sue Festa, of Boston Caricature, draws a free sketch of Leia Fernandes, of Fall River at the annual Cape Verdean Day Festival in Brockton.
Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff
As years went on and the festival attracted more attendees from across New England, it was moved to Snow Park and later Keith Field. This year was the first time the festival was held at Campanelli Stadium, the home of a local baseball team, the Brockton Rox.
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Joaquim Ramos of Dorchester came to the festival to sell T-shirts with pictures of the Cape Verdean singer Cesária Évora and the country's blue, red and white flag on them. Ramos, 58, immigrated to Boston from the Cape Verdean island of Santiago when he was 23 years old. He said he enjoys coming to the Brockton festival, because it reminds him of home.
'We call Brockton the 11th island, because if I come here, I don't have to speak English,' Ramos said. 'People in businesses, shops and restaurants all speak creole.'
Bel DeBarros of New Bedford attended the Brockton festival for the first time. She said she was specifically interested in the live music and dance performances. DeBarros, 63, is a second generation immigrant and said she tries to keep in touch with Cape Verdean culture through cooking family recipes and listening to music.
'I like coming to these festivals to meet other Cape Verdeans, to see how many of us there are,' DeBarros said, 'and bringing my grandchildren so they can be surrounded by the culture.'
Angela Mathew can be reached at