Sergio Frusoni (August 10, 1901 – May 29, 1975) was a poet and promoter of the
Cape Verdean Creole
Cape Verdean Creole is a Portuguese-based creole languages, Portuguese-based creole language spoken on the islands of Cape Verde. It is the native creole language of virtually all Cape Verdeans and is used as a second language by the Cape Verd ...
language.
Biography
Sérgio was born in
on the island of
São Vicente, the son of
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
immigrants Giuseppe Frusoni and Erminia Bonucci. At the age of 24, he began to work at the ''
Western Telegraph Company'' and changed later on to ''Italcable''. In 1947, he managed the ''
O Café Sport'' in
, the main city of
São Vicente, where he presented poems and anecdotes in Crioulo. After that he went back to work for Italcable. In the 1960s, he conducted the theatre group ''
Theatro do Castilho'' in Mindelo. For a number of years, he was chronicler at the radio ''
Barlavento'', where he produced the program ''Mosaico Mindelense'' in Crioulo.
Sérgio wrote many
short stories
A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...
and
poems
Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...
in the
Creole of São Vicente (''Criol d' Soncente''). He died, aged 73, in
Lisbon
Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
. He is well known in Cape Verde, but almost unknown outside the island.
On June 7, 2005, Capeverdean president
Pedro Pires paid homage to Sergio Frusoni and declared him as one of the greatest Crioulo poets.
Corsino Fortes described Frusoni in Paralelo 14 (''Parallel 14'').
Legacy
Some of his poems would be a part of the ''
Tertúlia'' collection which featured poems made by other poets. In 2004, it was performed in a play at the 10th Mindelo Theatrical Festival.
Works
Some famous poems and short stories
Chronicles in Crioulo
*''
Mosaico Mindelense'' ("Mindelense Mosaic")
Short stories in Crioulo
* ''Contrabónde'' (short story) in ''Miscelânea luso-africana''
* ''Na Tribunal''
* ''Dum Bóca pa ôte''
* ''Mute convérsa pa nada''
Poems in Creole
* ''Contrabónde''
* ''Pracinha''
* ''Era um vêz um coquêr''
* ''Presentaçôm''
* ''Pa diante ê qu’ê camin''
* ''Flôr de Béla Sómbra''
* ''Fonte de nha Sôdade, Lembróme''
* ''Mnine d' Sanvicente''
* ''Programa para meninos''
* ''Marí Matchim''
* ''Diante de mar de Sanvicente''
* ''Sanvcênte já cabá na nada''
* ''Sê Brinque''
* ''Carta d'Angola''
* ''Nha Chica''
''Temp’ d’ Caniquinha (Um vêz Sanvcênt era sábe)''
* Sonnet in crioulo dedicated t
Dr. Francisco Regala
Poems in English
* ''Sonnet''
Poems in Portuguese
* ''In Mortis''
* ''À Sogra''
* ''Na Hora X''
* ''A Marmita''
Theatre
* - de Sérgio Frusoni
See also
* Manuel d'Novas
* Luís Romano de Madeira Melo
* Eugénio Tavares
* Germano Almeida
References
Further reading
Articles and columns
* Two poems (crioulo of São Vicente) in the literary journal ´ ' Claridade-Revista de Arte e Letras' no.9-1966: ''Fonte de nha Sodade' and ''Tempe Felix''
* ''Textos Crioulos Cabo-Verdianos'', published in the book ''Miscelânea luso-africana'', edited by Marius F. Valkhoff, (1975)
* Short story ''Contrabónde'' in ''Miscelânea luso-africana''
* ''A Poética de Sérgio Frusoni: Uma Leitura Antropológica'', a collection of Poems in the crioulo of São Vicente with Portuguese translation, collected by Mesquitela Lima, (1992)
Books
* ''Vangêle Contód d'nôs Móda'', a translation of Bartolomeo Rossetti's Roman dialect
Romanesco () is one of the Central Italian dialects spoken in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, especially in the Rome, core city. It is linguistically close to Tuscan dialect, Tuscan and Italian language, Standard Italian, with some notable ...
New Testament into the Crioulo of São Vicente (1979)
External links
Works by Sérgio Frusoni, mentioned by Manuel Lopes
by Simone Caputo Gomes
Poem ''Temp d'Canequinha''
''Este ritual é a "prenda má grande dum pôve e que tá fazê parte de sê vida"''
Aspects of Biography of Sergio Frusoni
Radio BarlaventoRádio Clube do Mindelo''Mestiçagem moldou obra de Sérgio Frusoni''
by Pedro Pires (in Portuguese)
Sermon d'montanha
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frusoni, Sergio
1901 births
1975 deaths
Cape Verdean male writers
Writers in Cape Verdean Creole
People from Mindelo
Writers from São Vicente, Cape Verde