Mário Lúcio Sousa

(Tarrafal, Cape Verde, 1964). A musician, writer, painter and presently Minister of Culture for Cape Verde, he is without question one of his country’s best-known and versatile artists. Founder and leader of the musical group “Simentera”, with which he has given concerts all around the world, he plays a range of different instruments, and is a composer and student of the traditional music of the archipelago. As a cultural activist, he was a driving force in establishing the Cape Verde International Jazz Festival and the Quintal da Música cultural association. He was a member of the Cape Verde Parliament (1996 – 2001), adviser to the Minister of Culture (1992) and Cultural Ambassador of the Cape Verde Government until he was nominated Minister of Culture. As a writer, he has worked in different genres, including essay, poetry, theatre and the novel. His most recent novel O Novissimo Testamento (Dom Quixote, 2009), was awarded the Carlos de Oliveira Prize and has been a bestseller in Portugal. He also belongs to the movement of new Cape Verde painters and has exhibited his work both in Cape Verde and other countries. Before opting for full-time engagement in the sphere of art and cultural promotion he worked as an independent lawyer for ten years.