Chiquinho
Cabo Verde

Chiquinho

by Baltasar Lopes da Silva

Coming of Age Fiction 1947

Summary

Set in Cape Verde during the first half of the twentieth century, Chiquinho follows a young boy growing up on the island of São Nicolau. Divided into three parts, the novel traces his journey from childhood in a close-knit rural community to adolescence and, eventually, adulthood. As Chiquinho learns to read and discovers literature, he begins to imagine possibilities beyond his island. His education takes him to São Vicente, where he encounters new ideas, forms friendships, experiences his first love, and becomes increasingly aware of the social and economic difficulties facing his homeland.

When he returns to São Nicolau as a teacher, devastating drought and famine strike the islands, bringing suffering to his community and threatening his hopes for the future. Faced with limited opportunities, Chiquinho ultimately considers emigration to the United States as a path towards survival and a better life.

Blending personal growth with a portrait of Cape Verdean society, the novel explores belonging, education, hardship, and the painful choice between leaving home and remaining connected to one’s roots. It is widely regarded as a foundational work of modern Cape Verdean literature.

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Country
Cabo Verde
Africa
About the author
Baltasar Lopes da Silva
Baltasar Lopes da Silva

Baltasar Lopes da Silva (1907–1989) was a Cape Verdean writer, poet, linguist, and educator who played a major role in the development of modern Cape Verdean literature. He was born in Caleijão, on the island of São Nicolau, where he grew up immersed in the language, traditions, and everyday realities of Cape Verdean life. After completing his early education in Cape Verde, Lopes travelled to Portugal to study at the University of Lisbon, where he earned degrees in law and Romance philology. He returned to Cape Verde and worked as a teacher and later as rector of Liceu Gil Eanes on the island of São Vicente. In 1936, he helped found Claridade, an influential literary review that encouraged writers to explore Cape Verdean culture, Creole identity, drought, poverty, and emigration rather than simply imitate Portuguese literary traditions. Lopes wrote in Portuguese and Cape Verdean Creole and sometimes published poetry under the pseudonym Osvaldo Alcântara. His best-known work, Chiquinho (1947), is considered a landmark of Cape Verdean literature. Through his writing, scholarship, and teaching, Lopes helped establish a literary tradition rooted in the islands’ distinctive history and cultural identity.

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Details
Published
1947
Author
Baltasar Lopes da Silva