Eneida Marta, Guinean singer: “African culture deserves to be better known around the world.”

"Since I've returned to my country, performing outside of Africa has become more difficult. The agencies that work with you in Europe leave you a bit aside because the contracts don't cover the budgets for travel, and that always ends up affecting your work," explains singer Eneida Marta. (Guinea-Bissau, 52 years old) in an interview with this newspaper minutes before her performance on the main stage of the Anoumabo Urban Music Festival (FEMUA), held in mid-April in Abidjan, Ivory Coast . However, she seems happy to be touring her continent and trying to overcome the linguistic barriers between neighboring countries.

It's been almost 10 years since Eneida returned to her home country—which has celebrated half a century of independence—after a lifetime away, in Portugal, where she had arrived as a teenager with her mother and siblings. "I lived in Portugal for 30 years, but when I felt the time had come, I came back home," confesses the daughter of Cape Verdean musician Maiúka Marta, who died in Angola in 2011.

The country is improving. It's growing, slowly taking on a new face after the war. The Guinea of ​​my childhood is returning.

“I've reached where I wanted to be,” she admits, satisfied, after six albums—the first dating back to 2001, the latest from 2022—and a recognized career in the world music world, which she doesn't deny. She maintains that, even as she internationalizes her sound, “Guinea-Bissau is always present,” not only in the rhythms, but also in the language, in her beloved national dialect, Creole . She's now working on her next album, and dreams of one of those songs featuring Concha Buika's voice.

Question : What were those Portuguese years like, far from your Guinean childhood?

Answer : During those three decades in Portugal, we had Guinea-Bissau within our own home. The sad thing was when, after 13 years of emigration, I returned to my country for two weeks after the war in 1998. When I arrived, I realized that the Guinea I had left behind was no longer the same. The scene of conflict and destruction angered and saddened me deeply. I told myself, "The trees are crying." From then on, I began working with the conviction that, sooner or later, I would return home. And that moment arrived in 2016.

Q. How much has your life changed since your return?

A. When I returned, I made a decision that I knew would have little to no impact on my career, but I was very aware that I had to do something for the children of my country. I do social work in orphanages, with sick children, helping evacuate them to Portugal for medical care, for example. It was the best and greatest motivation for my return; I work for myself, although a few years ago I was also a UNICEF ambassador.

Q. And the trees don't cry anymore since you came back?

A. Now they're stopping crying. The country is improving, frankly. It's growing, little by little it's taking on a new face, after the war. The Guinea of ​​my childhood is returning. However, the 50 years of independence are cause for reflection, because, unfortunately, there have been many negative episodes that have contributed nothing at all to Guinea-Bissau, such as the successive coups d'état.

My concerts usually take place in Europe, America, and Lusophone Africa. I'm also opening some doors in Francophone Africa.

Q. How do you feel now on the continent, with the distances created by the different languages ​​left by colonization?

A. I reconnect with myself and my siblings because I feel Africa as if it were a mother. Even though we're from different countries, we have a mother in common. I learn from the differences I have with my siblings ; this contributes to my African identity and my way of being, and I think it makes me a richer singer, since I'm influenced by other countries.

Q. Is it easy to break away from the Lusophone circuits and move towards other linguistic areas of Africa?

A. My concerts usually take place in Europe, the Americas, and Portuguese-speaking Africa (Cape Verde, Angola, Mozambique, and São Tomé). I'm opening some doors in French-speaking Africa. Obviously, there's a barrier, but it's not impossible. In fact, this is my second year at the FEMUA in Abidjan.

Q. What issues do you think are important to talk about in Africa today?

A. Culture. I think African culture deserves to be better known around the world. It's already happening, but I think much more is needed, because Guinea-Bissau is an extremely culturally rich country. I'm not just talking about music, but also about film, the visual arts, and gastronomy. I myself am on the adventure of opening a restaurant in my country… because I love cooking.

Q. Which new generation African artists do you listen to?

A. I'll start with my country : there's a young man I've done a duet with called Lil As . He's a genius of hip-hop, of rap, he's an extraordinary guy. Another one is the Franco-Congolese Dadju .

Q. What are you currently working on?

A. I'm commemorating 25 years of my career with concerts and preparing the next album, which will be my seventh. We already have about 10 songs, some with strong themes, like one that denounces forced child marriage. We'll compose a few more, see which ones stick, and we're also looking for collaborations. I want to go further musically: my dream would be to sing some of these songs with Concha Buika . And there are other singers I have yet to sing with, like Marc Anthony.