Carlos Alberto Sousa Mendes, known as Princezito, is a Cape Verdean musician, composer and performer with a great reputation in Cape Verde and internationally. Regarded as the father of modern batuku and the creator of new styles that mix traditional and modern sounds and rhythms with a contemporary language, Princezito has taken Cape Verdean music all over the world.

He is a tireless promoter of finason, batuku and tabanka. He is also a writer and cultural activist, combining music with research into the preservation and diffusion of Cape Verde’s intangible heritage. Recent academic studies of contemporary Cape Verdean literature consider Princezito’s work to be a forerunner of the literary finason, giving him credit for several innovations in music, such as the creation of the finarap.

This concert is the result of a collaboration between the Gulbenkian Foundation and the Cape Verde Cultural Centre.

Image: © Amilton Levy

Summer Garden 2024

This event is part of the Summer Garden 2024, a free-entry festival with concerts, DJ sets, talks, films and workshops. Learn more