Maria Rodrigues
Cape Verdean
BiographyMaria Rodrigues performs traditional funana and batuku, African-influenced dances from the Cape Verde island of Santiago, with the group Pilon Batuku led by Joao Cerilo. They have performed at the Lowell Folk Festival (2008) and the Working Waterfront Festival in Massachusetts, with Maria singing as well as dancing. Maria and Joao Cerilo were mentors to the Norwich, Connecticut student dance group Estrellas under the Southern New England Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program in 2006-2007. On her native island of Santiago, people get together most evenings to play music and dance; batuku and funana are emblematic of the high energy style popular in clubs as well as in the hills and villages. Known as Queen Tida, Maria came to the U.S. when she was seventeen and lives in New Bedford. She and Pilon Batuku are beloved artists in the Cape Verdean clubs of Pawtucket and New Bedford.
Person TypeIndividual
Cape Verdean, 1924 - 2005
