Cultural traits of much interest are present in the everyday life of the population, in the manufacture of items of everyday use, and in customs associated with survival and leisure activities. The traditional objects, produced for common use and very much sought after by visitors, reflect an experience made difficult by the drought, which is an omnipresent fact of life in Cape Verde.

Basketmaking using cane is highly diversified, with a variety of baskets for common and decorative use. Crafts of coconut shells also include decorative and utilitarian objects of great interest. Weaving, which won great honors in the 18th century, and cotton goods, in the traditional white and indigo blue. Also prized is the tapestry work produced on the island of Sao Vicente.

The population benefits from a diet marked by diverse combinations of the traditional popular food productscorn, beans, sweet potato, cassava, fish, and various meatsenriched by the flavors of traditional liqueurs and sweets. The main traditional plate is the cachupa, widely consumed by the entire population, with various ingredients depending on the time of day and the customer's purchasing power.

Music is an essential cultural expression of the life of Cape Verdian communities, an integral part of family and social celebrations, and of the popular festivals held in each island, in tribute to the patron saints, such as Sao JSm, with drums beat to exhaustion to mark the festival of the solstice (June 24). String instruments are widely used, such as the guitar, the viola, the cavaquinho, or small guitar, and the violin; drums and other percussion instruments are also quite popular.

The musical forms are unique, each with its own characteristics. Morna music is the music of the sodade, or sense of nostalgia, of the Cape Verdians spread across the world, of the destiny of those who want to stay but must leave; coladeira and funn, songs of humor, joy, and sensuality; tabanka, from the island of Santiago, is repetitive, with horns, drums, and cornets, played by women who play percussion on plastic sheets, bags, and bottles, beating their thighs, their legs, in a very African rhythm; pilMo, from the island of Fogo, in the nights leading up to the Festas da Bandeira (Festivals of the Flag), when the women grind the corn to prepare cherem, to the sound of chants, the beat 'of the drums and the rattle of tchabeta on the edge of the 'grinders; fina'on, of African origin, which goes back to the time of slavery; musical forms imported from Europe, such as the mazurka, contradance, canto da divina and, more recently, the new music, with many influences from abroad. Cesaria Evora, Bana Titina, Paulino Vieira, Dany Silva, Tiro Paris, Ramiro Mendes, Tubaroes, Finacon, Bulimundo, are among the bestknown Cape Verdian musicians.

The most important literary movement was begun in 1936 by intellectuals and writers, former students of the seminary at Sao Nicolau, in conjunction with the literary journal Claridade, known for its opposition to the colonial dictatorship and for an aesthetic revolution that represented a break with the old European models. Among the representatives of this movement are Baltasar Lopes da Silva, author of Chiquinho, the greatest novel of Cape Verde; Manuel Lopes, author of the novels Chuva Brava and Flagelos `do Vento Leste; authors such as Jorge Barbosa, Felis Monteiro, Antonio Aurilio Gon'alves, Gabriel Mariano, and Jaime Figueiredo, poet and essayist; Henrique Texeira de Sousa, novelist and storyteller; Arnaldo Fran'a, poet; and Germano Almeida, author of O meu Poeta and Testamento do Senhor Napumoceno.

Portuguese Creole literature has been developed by Ana Procopio, an improvisational poet in the popular festivals in the island of Fogo; Eugenio Tavares, from the island of Brava; Mrio Barbosa, from Fogo; B. Leza and Manuel de Novas, the celebrated authors of mornas and coladeiras, from Sao Vicente; and Sergio Frusoni, who translated the New Testament into Portuguese Creole for the Nazarenes.

Cape Verde's preeminent painters include Manuel Figueira, Tchal Figueira, Barbeio BarrosGizzi, LeMo Lopes, MariaLuisa Queires, Maria Alice Fernandes, Kiki Lima, David Levy Lima, and AbraMo Lima.

Traditional ceramic pieces are made of red clay, with no decoration or glaze. Some major contemporary Cape Verdian artists, such as Maria de Lurdes Vieira, have done research in this area, introducing colors and new techniques, while recreating objects and Xforms. These works may be seen in specialty shops and in international shows and fairs.

Some of Cape Verde's artists and intellectuals live in Cape Verdian communities in different parts of the world.

There has been a tradition of filmmaking by amateurs, and the first steps are being taken to produce feature films, at the hand of LeMo Lopes, former minister of culture and communication, with the filming of O Ieheu de Contenda, based on the work of the same name by Texeira de Sousa. Another feature film is now being produced, based Germano Almeida's Testamento do Senhor Napumoceno.