The project ‘Worldwide Waist’ showcases and celebrates diverse dance and music traditions from around the world.
This video gives a taste of the mesmerizing music and dance tradition of Batuco/ Batuku from Santiago Island, Cape Verde.
Cape Verde, an archipelago of ten islands off the northwest coast of Africa, has a rich cultural heritage shaped by a complex history of colonization and slavery. A significant expression of this heritage is Batuco, a tradition that originated when Africans from the mainland were forcibly brought to the islands by Portuguese colonizers.
Emerging from this painful past, Batuco evolved into a powerful means of expression and storytelling, integrating singing, d...