Candida Rose has had a love affair the the Cape Verdean culture since she was a little girl. She is a second-generation, American-born, Cape Verdean, which means that her grandparents were born in the Republica Di Cabo Verde on the islands of Brava and Santo Antao, then emigrated to the United States. She started singing Cape Verdean songs at the age of six and spent most of her childhood and teen years immersed in Cape Verdean/American culture.

However, after a 20-year “Cape Verdean culture” hiatus in her adult life, it wasn’t until she went back to school to earn her Bachelor of Arts-Music Degree (at the age of 40) that she re-discovered her Cape Verdean musical roots. After graduating from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth in 2005, she went on to record her first CD “KabuMerikana: The Sum of ME”, which led her to several trips to Cabo Verde to perform, and subsequently a tour with the Performing Arts Festival from 2007 - 2009, educating people in Hawaii, Alaska, and other parts of the United States about Cape Verdean culture. She later went on to graduate with a Master of Science Degree (2017) in Transnational, Cultural, and Community Studies, from the University of Massachusetts, Boston, where she produced her Capstone program entitled “KabuMerikanus - The Sum of US: Exploring the Cape Verde/United States Musical Connection and Legacy”. In addition, her work has led her to be chosen to participate in a nationally televised PBS program entitled “No Passport Required/Boston”, hosted by chef Marcus Samuelson, where she performs and discusses Cape Verdean history.

This page is dedicated to her continued exploration of Cape Verdean/American musical culture and heritage in attempt to bring the richness and beauty of her heritage to the general public.