2026 · lowellfolk ·Apr 21, 2026

ELIDA ALMEIDA

Cabo Verdean funaná and batuque
Santiago Island, Cabo Verde

Cape Verde is a tiny island archipelago that has made some big musical waves over the last forty years. 300+ miles off the coast of West Africa, the former Portuguese colony once sat at the crossroads of an overseas empire, connecting Portugal to Brazil and its other African colonies. Since gaining independence in 1975, Cape Verde has emerged as an unlikely musical powerhouse, leveraging its transatlantic connections to export homegrown sounds to the greater Lusophone world and beyond. The music is an irresistible cocktail of African rhythms, Latin instruments, top tier musicianship, and languid kriolu vocals—and few Cape Verdean artists are harder to resist than Elida Almeida.

Born on the island of Santiago in 1993, Almeida grew up in the rural mountain community of Pedra Badejo, where she first realized her talents singing hymns in church. Later, she honed her musical knowledge as host of a radio show, where she developed a love for the popular music of Cape Verde—especially funaná and batuque—that would become the cornerstones of her repertoire. After moving to the capital, Praia, to attend university, Elida began performing her original songs in local bars and nightclubs, where she was first discovered by legendary Cape Verdean producer José da Silva.

Almeida recorded her debut album, Ora doci, Ora Margos (Sweet Moment, Bitter Moment) in 2014, and it was released internationally in 2015. The album was a departure from the lush, sensual mornas and coladeiras usually favored by Cape Verdean singers, with Almeida leaning into her rural roots, and putting a youthful, pop gloss on the funaná and batuque dance sounds popular on her home island of Santiago. Both styles have deep roots in Cape Verde’s African communities, grounded in the culture of formerly enslaved Africans, and once suppressed by Portuguese authorities. Batuque is the older style, with its drummed polyrhythms and call-and-response dances thought to be originally imported by transplanted Angolans. Traditional funaná is a village dance music driven by the interplay between the accordion and a metal scraper (ferrinho). The modern funaná that Almeida performs retains the frenetic pace, while adding in electric instruments for a more contemporary sound.

Almeida’s big break came when her ballad “Nta Konsiqui”, went viral on YouTube after being featured on a Portuguese soap opera in 2015. Since then, Elida has gone on to international acclaim, touring Europe and North America and releasing five albums to date. As a performer, her buoyant energy and big voice are infectious. As a songwriter Elida Almeida is thoughtful, tender, and profound, always mindful of her culture and proud of her Cape Verdean roots.