Now it wasn’t until I was around 12 years old that my mother put me into a group for the upcoming annual Carnival.  In the group that she placed me in, there was something like 300 kids rehearsing for the Carnival!  And our Carnival group had this renowned Cape Verdian composer known as Ti Goi who was writing the music for our group.  He has since passed away, roughly five years ago.  So he was the chosen composer for the songs to be used in our Carnival group.

We started working together and rehearsing.  And then one day, out of the blue, Ti Goi asked me, "Did you ever met Cesaria Evora?"  Now, being a little girl, it was clear that I hadn't had the chance to meet Cesaria Evora yet.  Ti Goi continued, "You remind me so much of Cesaria when she was around 16 years old."  I was astounded!  All I could say was, "Oh really! I love her music" as we used to listen to Cesaria’s music all the time on the radio while growing up in Cape Verde.  She was a musical idol to us all.  Ti Goi replied to me, "Well, Cesaria and I are very good friends, and we sing together at all the bars and restaurants.  I would love to one day introduce you to her." Naturally, I replied that I would love to meet her.

It was also announced that Cesaria Evora would be singing at this event as well! So Ti Goi told me, "Francelina, I would like you to come with me to this Cape Verdian night that we are having in Derby and I will give you the chance to sing one song." I couldn’t believe it... me, the young Francelina? And he said, "Yes, Francelina, you.   And  Cesaria will be there as well so I would like to introduce you to her." I was hesitant as I had never sung for people in places like that before! But Ti Goi assured me, "You’re going to do just fine, and I just want to sing one song for everyone."

Fantcha:  Well, I got myself up on the stage in front of all those people, and decided to sing one of Cesaria’s very own songs, a classic tune called "Belga."  So I sang and for some reason, Cesaria really liked the way that I performed it that night.  I tell you, I was all shaking and trembling seeing those big shots for the first time up there in front of me! So that was my first big experience in music!

Fantcha:  The next big thing for me was the following year.  Again, I was participating in the Carnival celebrations.  But this time, I actually met and befriended Cesaria’s daughter - but without even knowing it at first!  You see, the funny thing is that I had no idea that this girl, my new friend named Fernanda, was Cesaria’s daughter.  We become friends during the Carnival preparations since we were in the same group.  You know, we were just two young girls hanging out after the rehearsals.  Yet one day after rehearsal, I was very thirsty and needed to drink a glass of water.  So Fernanda said to me, "Let’s go to my house for some water."  At that time, Fernanda lived in the city while I was living outside of the city in the village.  So Fernanda invited me to her house as it was the closest, and when we walked into her house, I saw Cesaria there in the kitchen and couldn’t believe my eyes!  The first thing I said when I saw her was, "Oh my God, do you remember me?" And she actually did! She said, "Yes, you were that little girl who sang my song "Belga" at the Derby club."  It was such a coincidence that Cesaria was Fernanda’s mother.

Fantcha:  Yes, Cesaria is known throughout the islands as a great person and my mother taught me how to handle myself.   So Cesaria took me to the piano bar, and I started singing with her.

Fantcha:  Yes, from that day onwards, I was with her Cesaria Evora every day.  She started taking me everywhere with her, to the restaurants and to the piano bars.  Cesaria has always been the Queen of Cape Verdean music, even before she became famous all over the world. And so because of my association with Cesaria, people in Cape Verde started to get to know me before I even had any recordings.  She’d take me to the radio, to the television interviews, etc. I was like her daughter.  So she took me everywhere and sometimes Cesaria would even be invited to concerts and she’d request that I had to be included in the event.  She was like it’s either I’m taking Fantcha, or I won’t perform. So the promoters really had no choice.

So everyone started to get to know me as Fantcha.  If you ask for Francelina, no one will know who you are talking about, but with the nickname Fantcha they will know.   So that is where I really started with the singing career. That was my very beginning in music.

Fantcha:  Yes.  Back in 1987, we had this singer named Bana who is also a producer. He’s the one who brought Cesaria to Portugal to record an album for him. Now, a year later, in 1988, he signed me up to record for him as well.  But financially, he couldn’t really release the album and promote it worldwide.  It was released only in Portugal, Cape Verde, and in some other European countries, but really only for the Cape Verdean community.  It was a small pressing.  So that was my first album, I can say my identity as an artist in Portugal and in Cape Verde.

Fantcha:  Yes, and after recording that album, I decided to stay in Portugal. That was unlike Cesaria, who had long ago decided that she never wanted to leave Cape Verde, only to tour, so she went back after her recording with Bana.  Cesaria travels, but there is no way she will live outside of Cape Verde. But as I was young, let’s say about twenty one years old, it was different for me.  You know, the situation in Cape Verde is difficult – it’s a very poor country, and very small.  If you want opportunity, you have to go somewhere else seeking for a better life.  And so I thought to myself, since I’m here in Portugal and I have just finished my first album, I will now stay here and try to extend my career, and see where it can go.  So I stayed in Portugal for one year and a half, after the album was released. At that time, I was singing for a producer who also had a small club and restaurant and was singing in that club every day.

Fantcha:  That story involved the first U.S. tour of Cesaria Evora.  It wasn’t until 1988 that Cesaria met José da Silva from Lusafrica, and he brought her to record a new album in Paris, her first album recorded in Paris.  As I was still in Portugal, Cesaria stopped there to visit me. She had just been invited to do a concert tour of the USA for the Cape Verdean community situated there.  And in typical Cesaria fashion, she informed José da Silva that if she went to America, she’d have to bring Fantcha with her.  She was always imposing this as she wanted me to go beyond and she always wanted to keep pushing my career forward.  One of Cesaria’s goals has always been to show that there are other artists to Cape Verdean music than just herself.  So with me, she could show that.  And I thank God everyday that Cesaria took me through the music world and guided me through the world.  I am very proud and couldn’t be more proud than having someone such as Cesaria as my guide.

Fantcha:  Actually, we performed in New York at the nightclub called SOBs in 1989.  It was terrific, Cesaria and Fantcha at SOBs. The response was great, it was incredible, but you know it was only our first concert. SOBs was sold out that night, but not that many people knew about Cesaria at that time. We’re talking about twelve years ago! But I think that people in New York were more just curious about this Cape Verdean music and they went there to experience it. And so we finished that concert at SOBs and went back to Rhode Island.

Fantcha:  When our contract finished, Cesaria went back to Cape Verde and I was supposed to return to Portugal. Just before Cesaria left, we were sitting there talking and she said to me, "Fantcha, I believe in my heart that in Portugal you will not do better than you are doing here. Just stay here in the United States." It was Cesaria who really encouraged me to stay here. Cesaria believes that every country has a God, and said to me, "Believe me, God is going to be with you and God is going to help you, and no matter how difficult it is going to be, you will do better here than in Portugal." And so after listening to her advice, I agreed and decided to stay in America.

Fantcha:  A few years passed by, and José da Silva telephoned me and informed me that he wanted to sign me up to record an album for him.  I was thrilled! Finally, I would have an album on Lusafrica.  By this point, Cesaria’s career had taken off already with the album Miss Perfumado in 1994, so I was so excited and happy for her the way things were going in Europe. So finally, I was going to be able to go and record for Lusafrica as well.  But at that time, I was still waiting for my papers, so I couldn’t take off yet to record the album, or else I wouldn’t be able to return to the US.  So I explained this to José da Silva, and he completely understood and replied "No problem, Fantcha, I will wait for you, the minute that you get your papers, give me a call."  And that’s exactly what I did for him, I called him as soon as I got my papers in 1997, and went to Paris and started to work on the first album called Criolinha.  So we finished Criolinha and I thank God as none of us thought that Criolinha would necessarily do as well as it did worldwide… but it did, and I thank God for that, without God’s help and luck, that wouldn’t have happened.  So Criolinha did quite well, and was released stateside by Tinder Records in 1998.  And of course in Europe originally by Lusafrica, which is my main label. With Tinder Records, it was a licensing arrangement.

Fantcha:  The album Criolinha has a totally different feel from Cesaria’s albums. To explain it best, Cesaria uses a 100% traditional style with all acoustic instruments. Because Cesaria is a singer, she sings. But with my musical productions, I am young and I like to dance. You see, when Cesaria sings, its "With the wrinkles on her eyes and the scar on her heart." But when Fantcha sings, it’s "With the smile on my eyes and the full happiness of my heart." That, to me, is the essence between our musics.

With my music, I want upbeat songs to dance to. On the first album, I have a mix of both electric and acoustic instruments. Therefore the production is not 100% acoustic and not 100% traditional. That is the difference of it. When I sing, believe me, I love to see people dancing to my music. When Cesaria sings, she is sending a different message that people can sit there, even if they don’t understand the lyrics, and feel the essence of the music in their hearts. When I sing, I can see that also people don’t understand, but that my music transmits this happiness and some kind of festivity. Like in the concerts, you often see people jumping and dancing to my songs, and that is what I like. I like to be moving on the stage, dancing and communicating with the audience. That’s my feel.

Fantcha:  When I made that album, I did not have the songs already in my head, because that album doesn’t have my own compositions.  You see, Cape Verde has a very strong tradition of composers.  When I called him back, I knew what composers I wanted to have for my songs. I wanted my album to be something new, a fusion, a mix.  So I called Joseph Silva back, and we talked about the songs and the composers that I would like to use. Because one of the best composer in my country, Manuel d’Novas, (for whom Cesaria records a lot of compositions), he is my good friend. So the first composer that I mentioned was Manuel d’Novas.  And he also plays guitar and we played a lot together back in Cape Verde.  I also said that I wanted Paolino Vierra, he’s the master of Cape Verde music.  He is a composer and he also plays all kinds of instruments. He is the master to me.  So we collected the songs, and I went to Paris, we sat down, I listened to the songs, I chose what I wanted, and José da Silva agreed with me, and next we got the band together and rehearsed the material, and then went to the studio. That’s the way it was.  I was in the studio for the vocals, and spent about three weeks. The arranger did all the tracks.  What we do, I sat there with the piano and my voice, and that’s how we recorded the tracks.

Fantcha:  In a country like Cape Verde, you sing for fun and you don’t put it in your head that you will become a big singer or a star. On the islands of Cape Verde, everyone loves music. You’ll find a fisherman playing a guitar and singing, you find a lady rocking her baby singing, it’s like this music, we were just born with it in our hearts. That is what I believe. To make it even more different, we don’t even have a music school. You find all those talented musicians from Cape Verde, but there is no school for music! I believe it’s God’s gift. For example, Tito Paris never went to music school. But what these composers are able to write and accomplish in their compositions, it’s so touching that you find yourself thinking that they must be trained in professional schooling. I once saw a journalist in Portugal who couldn’t believe that Tito Paris had never been to the conservatory to learn music. It is just God’s gift to Cape Verde. That is what makes Cape Verde so interesting, that there is such a wealth of good musicians. They were born with this music in their hearts.

On that note, a lot of people ask me if I went to a vocal school. But I never did. Up to now, I have never been to any vocal school. Again, it’s just a gift. I don’t train my voice. Whenever we have a concert, I go and rehearse. But it is all-natural. The only thing that I do before I go to the concerts is that I drink coffee, because I am a coffee drinker. I have to go on stage with some coffee.

Fantcha:  As far as the lyrics in our music, because we speak our dialect, Portuguese is our school. But in everyday base, we speak our dialect, Creole. That’s what we are singing, Creole, not Portuguese. But if we speak with someone from Angola, we understand their Portuguese… it’s all the same Portuguese, from Angola, Guinea Bissau, from Mozambique, from Timor, from Sao Tome Principe, it’s all Portuguese. But again, they have a dialect also, and when they speak this dialect, then we cannot understand each other. It has to be Portuguese for us to understand. Just like our Creole is different from the Patois here.

There are a few musicians in Massachusetts, that is where my band is based. Here in New York, unfortunately, we have no musicians. I came to New York as my close friends were all here in New York, and as I had no family here, I came to New York to be with them. I love New York, it is a very exciting city, it is all the stress and excitement together that makes New York so interesting!