Island Rhythms | National Geographic

on the Western African island of South
you may the days drift by to a slow and
lazy rhythm after nearly 500 years under
Portuguese and four-time Dutch rule the
islands that make up the country sow to
may and principe became independent in
1975 today there is a population of over
180,000 most descended from slaves who
once worked the islands plantations hace
dos Santos was born here in 1966 when he
was 11 his parents left the island to
live in Lisbon oz Vita went to school in
the Portuguese capital where he also
pursued his passion for music one day he
dropped everything and came back to his
native island I think that I needed to
change the reference and clean a little
bit of some influence that I made to
change and I kid that’s why I came to
something me in order to be close to my
room a little bit of Africa that I was
missing
on his return to sow to may he met guli
air may a young storyteller also trying
to make a career out of music twice each
week as Vito and Julie air may hit the
road to work with another friend Ned so
their band grupo tempo is a unique mix
of modern and traditional rhythms apart
from music guli air may and net so have
taken a painting to help express their
islands culture the pictures capture the
essence of the island its colors and its
light while finding paints or patrons
for that matter is a challenge on the
tiny island the artists of South you may
are trying to stay true to their culture
and lifestyle
the three members of group o tempo are
cultural ambassadors for Salcha may
their dreams are simple to capture the
colors and sounds of this beautiful
island