The Art of Batuque: Therapeutic and Cultural Expression Effects by the Finka Pé Group

Abstract

This article researches the therapeutic and cultural effects produced when practicing Batuque by the musical group Finka Pé. The group consists of women and descendants of Cape Verde living in the city of Lisbon, in the Alto da Cova da Moura neighborhood - a suburb of Lisbon where a large part of Cape Verde’s immigrants concentrate. Cape Verdean music has been constituted in a transnational way, beyond borders, and Batuque represents one of the oldest musical genres practiced essentially by women: the batucadeiras. Qualitative techniques of the cartography method, of participant observation, as well as interviews and the constitution of a Field Diary were utilized in the research. We conclude that the history of Batuque and batucadeiras is one of struggle and resistance. Through this migrant musical practice, they not only disseminate Cape Verdean culture, but consolidate spaces of care, resilience and freedom between them and the community to which they belong, resignifying a place of citizenship for Cape Verdean immigrants in Portugal.