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Eugénio Tavares and one of his poems

Eugénio Tavares, (born May 11, 1867, Brava Island, Cape Verde Islands-died Jan. 6, 1930, Brava Island), was one of the first Cape Verdeans to be published in the islands' vernacular, Crioulo, a creolized Portuguese with African-language influences. He is known through his famous poems (mornas).

The morna is a uniquely Cape Verdean art form of song and dance. Listen here
Its origins have not been identified; they are African, Lusitanian, Arabic, or a mixture thereof.
Tavares' mornas deal with the power of true love, the sorrow of separation, and the sad, sweet longings for and memories of home.