Inside the Secret Archive of Poet Eugénio Tavares
For nearly a century, an unassuming iron safe has guarded some of the most precious literary treasures of Cape Verde. Inside are the original, handwritten poems of Eugénio Tavares—the legendary writer, composer, and journalist often hailed as the “Camões of Cape Verde.”
A Lifetime of Preservation
Today, these relics reside in a house-museum in Sintra, Portugal, under the watchful eye of the poet’s 90-year-old grand-nephew, Eugénio Tavares de Sena. Having moved to Portugal in 1950, de Sena has dedicated his life to preserving his great-uncle’s legacy. His home is a living archive, filled with photographs, furniture brought from the Cape Verdean island of Brava, and the very chair where the poet died in 1930 at the age of 63.
The centerpiece of this collection is the heavy iron safe. It contains the original manuscripts for “Mar Eterno” and “Força di Cretcheu,” pillars of the morna—the soulful musical genre that defines Cape Verdean identity. Through de Sena’s efforts, the Eugénio Tavares Foundation was established in 1995 to ensure these works would never be forgotten.
The Voice of a Diaspora
The poet’s influence stretched far beyond the shores of Brava. During his time in the United States, he founded the newspaper Alvorada, becoming a vital voice for the Cape Verdean diaspora. Back in Lisbon, the morna began to gain traction in the 1950s, played in cafes and recorded on the reel-to-reel tapes that de Sena still proudly displays.
De Sena recalls how the music was initially a purely oral tradition. “The melodies were transmitted by ear,” he explains, noting that the musicians of the Troupe Musical Bravense, founded by Tavares in 1922, played without sheet music. It wasn’t until 1980 that fellow composer Jotamonte finally transcribed the melodies into formal scores.
A Living Legacy
The house-museum has played host to some of the greatest voices in Cape Verdean music, including the late Celina Pereira. Together, de Sena and Pereira championed the bid to have the morna recognized as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage—a milestone finally achieved on December 11, 2019.
Despite the global fame of his compositions, the heirs of Eugénio Tavares have never claimed royalties for his work. For de Sena, the mission has always been about honor rather than profit. He has been instrumental in compiling his great-uncle’s vast output into three comprehensive volumes covering poetry, journalism, and personal correspondence.
Today, Cape Verde celebrates National Culture Day on October 18, the anniversary of Tavares’ birth. While the poet’s life ended decades ago, his grand-nephew believes the story is far from over. As long as the iron safe remains closed and the mornas continue to be sung, the “Camões of Cape Verde” lives on.
Image: Pexels – Buchkiste
