By Morgan Annable
Cape Verde, or Cabo Verde, is a small archipelago nation composed of ten volcanic islands and is the setting of the last Reel World Film Series event of the year. This week, the Institute of Global Engagement is showing “Tchindas” on May 24 in Miller Hall 138 at 6 p.m. This will be a free event.
“Tchindas” is a documentary that tells the story of a Cape Verdean of the same name. Tchinda Andrade is a well-known and well-loved member of the Cape Verde community who gained even more recognition and support after coming out as a transgender woman in the newspaper in 1998. All LGBTQ people were in the closet at that time, Tchinda states in the documentary. According to an i-D Magazine article about the film there weren’t even words in Cape Verdean Creole for concepts such as non-cisgender, non-straight genders and sexualities.
“People didn’t know the words [for gay or trans],” Tchinda said in an interview with i-D. “So when they saw [a gay or trans person] they’d say ‘There’s a tchinda.'”
Now, the name Tchinda is synonymous with the LGBTQ community, hence the pluralization in the title of the film.
The documentary follows Tchinda and her friends as they prepare for the annual Carnival. Each February the island makes a transformation from its low-key island pace to the hectic atmosphere more associated with a big city.
The annual Carnival (in 2013 the theme was “under the sea”) is a crucial part of Cape Verde life, and the tchindas (the original one as well as her friends) are an integral part of making the Carnival happen.
Join the Institute of Global Engagement on May 24 to learn about this celebration of Cape Verdean culture and the people behind it.