Vivalda Ndula (born Vivalda Patrícia António Branco) is an Angolan singer-songwriter, dancer and percussionist.

Life and career

Early life and education

Vivalda Ndula was born in

Luanda Luanda ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Angola, largest city of Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atlantic coast, Luanda is Ang ...

, Angola. She is the sixth of ten siblings. Her father was a former FAPLA soldier during the

Angolan Civil War The Angolan Civil War () was a civil war in Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with interludes, until 2002. The war began immediately after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. It was a power struggle between two for ...

period. When he returned unstable from the war, Ndula's mother worried about the children's safety ran away from him taking the children including Vivalda Ndula. Two years later Ndula's father died when she was only 9 years old. In her late teens, she was a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and enter to a second-division team called Footscola in Terra Nova. She earned a scholarship from Footscola that allowed her to conclude her pre-university studies in

Social Science Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the ...

at private school named "Cruz Linda" in Luanda. Vivalda Ndula started her artistic career as Dancer signed by MINESSA Afro-contemporary Dance Company and last until 2004. Later on, she moved to MANESSÉMA Afro-contemporary Dance Company with whom she toured in Spain for the 7th International Festival of Traditional Music and Dance in

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

. Also, she co-hosted the Angolan Public Television show "Estrelas ao Palco" in 2004. While studying for a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

International Affairs International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

at UPRA University in

, Ndula worked a day job as Assistant of former Japan Ambassador in Angola, Mr. Kazuhiko Koshikawa helping to pay for

tuition Tuition may refer to: *Formal education, education within a structured institutional framework *Tutoring, private academic help *Tuition payments Tuition payments, usually known as tuition in American English and as tuition fees in Commonwealth ...

fees of her 3 youngest brothers and sisters and also to help her widowed mother in her country – Angola, where socio-economic and politic life was very unstable. Later, Ndula relocated to the US, where she completed an Associated Degree at

Houston Community College Houston Community College (HCC), also known as the Houston Community College System (HCCS), is a community college that operates community colleges in Houston, Texas, Houston, Missouri City, Texas, Missouri City, Greater Katy, and Stafford, Texas ...

. In 2017, Dula earned a Master's degree in Administration and Management of Cultural Industries at the

Miguel de Cervantes European University Miguel de Cervantes European University (, UEMC) is a private university located in Valladolid, Castilla y León (Spain). UEMC has 4,500 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in three Faculties and offers 17 Bachelor's degrees, 6 double de ...

in Spain.

Musical career

In 2009 Ndula created the Afro-contemporary Dance and Percussion company Karapinha Dura and began experimenting with the fusion of Angolan traditional sound and classical music. Her first musical show was the Afro-contemporary "MUJÍTU" or "The Guest", created in 2010. The show written, produced, and directed by herself premiered in 2011 in

and in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

in 2013 during the 6th Akwaaba Dance and Drum Festival. In 2013 Vivalda released her first solo work an EP "Insanidade Mental" (Mental Insanity). She toured the United States with "Vivalda Ndula USA Tour 2014 – Henda Mua Ngola" to promote the album, performing in Washington, D.C., Chicago, New York City,

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

and

. Throughout her career, Vivalda Ndula performed for different venues such as Angola Embassy in Washington D.C, Angola Consulate in Houston,

Montreal Jazz Festival The Festival international de Jazz de Montréal is an annual jazz festival held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Jazz Fest holds the 2004 Guinness World Record as the world's largest jazz festival. Every year it features roughly 3,000 ar ...

, WOBEON-world music and peace festival (Austin), Globalquerque Festival,

Fethiye Fethiye () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Muğla Province, Turkey. Its area is 875 km2, and its population is 177,702 (2022). It is one of the prominent tourist destinations in the Turkish Riviera. It was formerly k ...

World Music Festival in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. In 2010, Vivalda Dula and her band sung in the opening of the "Beat and Wind from Japanasia"

taiko are a broad range of Traditional Japanese musical instruments, Japanese percussion instruments. In Japanese language, Japanese, the term refers to any kind of drum, but outside Japan, it is used specifically to refer to any of the various J ...

show in

. Vivalda cited as her inspiration during younger years Angolan and world influential musicians and bands as Mito Gaspar,

Bonga (musician) José Adelino Barceló de Carvalho (born 5 September 1942), better known as Bonga, is an Angolan folk music, folk and semba singer-songwriter.Davis, Clive (2009)Bonga ''Bairro'', ''The Sunday Times'', 18 January 2009 He was born in Kipiri in Lua ...

Waldemar Bastos Waldemar dos Santos Alonso de Almeida Bastos (January 4, 1954 – August 10, 2020) was an Angolan musician who combined Afropop, Portuguese (fado), and Brazilian influences. History He was born in the Portuguese Overseas Province of Angol ...

, Ngola Ritmos,

Miriam Makeba Zenzile Miriam Makeba ( , ; 4 March 1932 – 9 November 2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, and civil rights activist. Associated with musical genres including African popular music, Afropop, ja ...

Angelique Kidjo Angelique or Angélique may refer to: * Angélique (given name), a French feminine name Arts and entertainment Music * Angélique (instrument), a string instrument of the lute family * ''Angélique'', a 1927 opéra bouffe by Jacques Ibert * A ...

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939 – May 24, 2023) was a singer, songwriter, actress, and author. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", her vocal prowess, raspy voice, and electrifyin ...

and

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...

. Mostly she sings in Portuguese and

Kimbundu Kimbundu, a Bantu language which has sometimes been called Mbundu or North Mbundu (to distinguish it from Umbundu, sometimes called South Mbundu), is the second-most-widely-spoken Bantu language in Angola. Its speakers are concentrated in the n ...

(Angola native language). Her musical style blends together Angolan traditional roots,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

, rock and

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

Discography

– DULA, 2018 (Album) AFRICA, 2015 (Album) INSANIDADE MENTAL, 2013 (EP) COLLABORATIONS: , 2014, single "Mázui" feat Kris Becker and Shiwei Wei and released during her concert in

. , 2016, single "Je t´aime" feat

Cheick Hamala Diabaté Cheick Hamala Diabate is a Malian musician, who has been nominated for a Grammy Award. Using Adelphi, Maryland, as his home he travels all over the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia. He has performed at the Kennedy Center, the United State ...

, nominated for Grammy Award. Insanidade Mental

Track list

Africa

Track list

Awards and nominations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dula, Vivalda Angolan musicians Musicians from Luanda Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Angolan women singers