Fashion Friday Profile of the Week
Fantcha!
As I floated away from the Soho Atelier of Chado Ralph Rucci (wait until you read that post... should be up by Sunday) and jutted my hand out for a taxi... a little desperately.... I had just enough time to check out Studio Manhattan's Pop Up in Bryant Park's Annual Holiday Shops (tomorrow's post) and make it back to Philly for dinner with my Honey. Stop the presses... the hell with the taxi, look at her gorgeous hair! I walk up to Fantcha, tell her that the Style Shepherd followers need to see how fantastic she looks and may I PLEASE take her picture.... I'm so forward. *Shrug*
Anyway, she gives me a look like, 'Who ARE you?'.... the normal reaction to being accosted on the street by a crazed fashion disciple. That doesn't slow me down (when I get excited, my personality morphs into a yapping chihuahua) I give her my card and explain all about Fashion Friday pic/profile of the week, and then......
Nonchalantly posing she says, "Go ahead. ... You're from Philadelphia? Ever heard of the International House?"
Of course I have. Well, it turns out she's performed there. Wow!
She gives me her card, "My name is Fantcha ... Check out my album on Itunes".
And as soon as I get back in front of my Mac (one of my favorite places in the world) I listened to snippets of her new album, Amor, Mar e Musica. It's beautiful, .... like a mix of Sergio Mendes and Hugh Masekela, in a strong feminine voice. Yup, I bought it... rockin' my neck and listening to it right now.
The whole time I'd been chit chatting with music star Fantcha! I love NY! .... The woman knows how to strike a pose.... click on IMAGES to see some really fab pics.
“Fantcha, a talented…Cape Verdean beauty based in New York City, is a musical ambassador from the African archipelago nation of Cape Verde.” ~Afropop Worldwide Cape Verde, the cluster of islands off the coast of West Africa's Senegal, is best known for its poetic, bluesy music epitomized by the morna, full of yearning or sodade. But, mornas are not the only form of music there, equally popular is the infectious, danceable coladeira. The heart of this music lies in Mindelo, the fabled cultural capital of this Island nation.
Fantcha was born in Mindelo and grew up singing in a musically rich household while, her brothers played guitar and cavaquinho. At the age of ten, she came to the attention of Ti Goi, one of Cape Verde’s most famous composers who recognized her talent and encouraged her to continue singing. He believed in her talent so completely that he went onto introduce her to Cesaria Evora. Cesaria was so taken with the young singer that she became her mentor and, took her touring frequently so that she could open for her.
A charismatic performer, Fantcha, developed her own, unique musical style with African, Cuban and Portugese inflections. Her rich, sensuous voice is memorable when she sings the soulful mornas, evoking the ache of longing and loss. She is equally compelling with her renditions of coladeiras, those danceable tunes, that time after time has audiences on their feet dancing.
Fantcha moved from Cape Verde and now makes her home in New York. Her music has continued to evolve through several albums including, Lusafrica’s Criolinha and Viva Mindelo and the compilation album Putamayo Presents Cape Verde where she performs alongside famed Cape Verdean vocalists such as Bana and Cesaria Evora. She has toured throughout Cape Verde, Europe and the US and has performed at the Hollywood Bowl, Chicago World Music Festival, New York’s Summerstage and Joe’s Pub among others.
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