Afropop: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange

Tchindas

Calm reigns in Sao Vicente, a small Cape Verdean island (off the West Coast of Africa) where most of the residents have lived all of their lives. In Mindelo we meet Tchinda, one of their most beloved women, especially after coming out as a transgender person in the local newspaper in 1998. Since then, her name has become the way local people call queer Cape Verdeans. Tchinda sells "coxinhas" (fried balls of chicken) by day and in the evening is responsible for security at her bar as music and grog, the famous local rum, permeates every corner of the island. In February the island evolves as thousands of people pack into the streets for Carnival.