Manecas Costa - Antonia

One of my favorite songs off the Putumayo Presents: Acoustic Africa disc. Manecas Costa is a famous guitarist, songwriter and singer from Guinea-Bissau. Costa (1976) is loved for his socially engaging lyrics from a region torned by internal (social) conflicts. When he left to Lissabon because of the civil war he became guitarist for the Angolan star Waldemar Bastos. After this his popularity increased, singing about migration, corruption and war, his youth, love and of course the beauty of his homeland.
Because of his excellent guitar play, voice and rhythms, Manecas Costa is a widely appreciated musician.
Wherever the Portuguese unfurled their colonial flag, they seemed to have left behind a musical legacy of much beauty and much sadness. Artists like Cesaria Evora from CapeVerde and Bonga from Angola are illustrations that have achieved world renown. The ex-Portuguese colony of Guinea Bissau in west Africa might already have already contributed a number of stars to the international scene if its immense musical potential had not been continually blighted by internal warfare and struggle. With the emergence of Manecas Costa however things are about to change. As a youth in Guinea Bissau, Costa was immersed in the rich musical traditions of his native land: the choirs of the Manjak and Jola, the dancing balafons of the Balanta, Manding kora music and the enticing sensuality of gumbe, a Creole dance rhythm of enormous erotic power. Inspired by the great Guinean guitarist José Carlos Shwarz, Costa took up the guitar at the age of nine and formed a group called 'Africa Live' with his brother Nelson. Such was the extent of Costa's local fame when he emerged from his teens that UNICEF decided to make him a Goodwill Ambassador. This gesture was also a recognition of his socially aware lyrics. In this guise he travelled and performed widely in Africa and Europe. After another vicious bout of conflict in Guinea Bissau, Costa moved to Lisbon in 1990, working with such Lusophone legends as Waldemar Bastos, Bana and Paulinho Vieira and international stars like Susheela Rahman.

Category : Guinea-Bissau Music Videos

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