This was originally posted on Vivendo de Lembranças, a website I no longer maintain. Small edits or changes may appear. The original post is available on the Wayback Machine. (C) Copyright Cliff Hansen, 2022.
The first person I remember meeting when I arrived in the village of Igrega, Cabo Verde as a nervous young Peace Corps Volunteer was an artist named Toni. He looked like a pirate, he spoke like a pirate, and he drank like a pirate; we were instant friends. Toni was excited to get to get to know me, to talk art, and to help me explore my new home. I had been so afraid of making friends in my new community, but Toni announced he was a built-in friend for all Peace Corps Volunteers. He showed me everything that first day.
The premiere issue of Revista Mosteiros, published in August of 2005, took a moment to introduce Toni and his art to the world:
Nelson Rodrigues, mais conhecido como Tony de Quilda, é um jovem artesão que vive mesmo no centro da Vila da Igreja. É aqui que vai instalar uma loja com artesanato de Mosteiros, do Fogo e de todo o país, de modo que os turistas e emigrantes que visitam a localidade possam levar na bagagem uma recordação que seja também um pedaço da cultura de Cabo Verde.
Os trabalhos de Tony estão espalhados um pouco por toda a vila, já que o artista se dedica à decoração de montras e fachadas de estabelecimentos. Além da pintura, faz esculturas e trabalhos de entalhe em madeira, que vai somar a criações da sua mulher, que se dedica à costura, para oferecer na sua loja um amplo leque de produtos em que a criatividade e os materiais africanos e particularmente cabo-verdianos darão o tom.
Apesar deste empreendimento que está no momento a concretizar e de transmitir a sua arte a outros jovens, em workshops realizados em parceria com o Centro de Juventude, Tony gostaria de deixar de ser um autodidacta. O seu sonho é vir um dia a cursar Belas Artes.
Nelson Rodrigues, better known as Toni di Kilda, is a young artisan who lives right in the center of the village of Igreja. Here a shop is set up with handicrafts from Mosteiros, Fogo and the rest of the country, so that tourists and emigrants who visit the town can carry in their luggage a souvenir which is also a piece of Cabo Verdean culture.
Toni’s works are spread out all over the village, as the artist is dedicated to the decoration of its shop windows and storefronts. In addition to painting, he makes sculptures and woodcarvings, which he will add to his wife’s creations, which are dedicated to sewing, to offer in their store a wide range of products in which the creativity and materials of African and particularly Cabo Verdeans will set the tone.
Despite the current undertaking of transmitting his art to other young people, in workshops held in partnership with the Youth Center, Toni would like to stop being a self-taught artist. His dream is to one day study fine arts.1
Toni wasn’t just a person who made art, he was artist in every fiber of his being and a pirate at heart. It was impossible to separate the art from the man. I would often buy Toni a Sagres or share a bottle of manecon with him, sitting outside his home as he chiseled wood, painted a wall or boat, helped his wife sew, or completed any other number of artistic projects. One of my favorite moments was coming home from a brief trip out of town and seeing him inflate puffer fish and hang them from trees for some sort of project. He would literally work with whatever material he could find.
Toni’s main theme was a burning love for his country of Cabo Verde (still officially known as Cape Verde when I knew him). He focused on imagery and scenes from the islands, particularly his volcanic home island of Fogo. As a fisherman, he also spent a lot of time out at sea and so the surrounding oceans also were a central theme in his works. We would often talk about pan-African artwork and he loved learning more about traditional and contemporary art by African artists and craftspeople across the continent and diaspora, and explore ways to integrate their works in his own experimental forms.
When I would watch Toni chisel wood, I would often be reminded of a quote by Steven Jay Gould:
“I am, somehow, less interested in […] Einstein’s brain […] than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops.”
Steven Jay Gould
While Toni could have made a successful career out of any number of lines of work, he was an artist, and tried to find the balance of finding enough small projects to provide food for his family and devoting himself to improving his skills.
Toni struggled with poverty and would often drunkenly stumble over to my home asking for money to buy supplies. As an American, I would frequently get requests for money from people, but it was different with Toni: he didn’t just want money, he wanted a patron. As a volunteer, I was unable to do much in the way of support, but from time to time I would find an excuse to purchase a custom piece of art from him in a way that would always leave him with extra materials to work with.
There is not much about Toni to be found on the internet, however a blog called Nia Espero wrote a kind post about him in 2010. It included an appeal to support his arts financially. I do not read Esperanto, so I’ve had to rely on machine translation, although I have fixed a few obvious errors.
LA ETERNA REVEMULO
LA ETERNA REVEMULO TONY DE KILDA, kies vera nomo estas Nelson RODRIGUES, cxiam revas malfermi Atelieron de skulptarto cxe la urbeto de Igreja, Administra Cxefurbo el Komonumo de Mosteiros, cxe la Insulo el Fogo, la vulkana Insulo el Verdkapa Insularo.
TONY DI KILDA, ekede infano atestis veran pasion pri Skulptajxo. Sed, li apenaux serioze komencis pli ol 20 jaroj, skulpti, dekoraci, pentri, farbi, kaj rekolekti foralasitajn objektojn cxe balaajxistoj. Li multe maltrankviligxas pro la mediaj aferoj. Cxiutage li cxiam produktas, esperanta ke montrigxas emigrantoj, kaj turistoj volanta cxiam acxeti liajn belajn laborojn kaj memorojn de vulkana Insulo. Cxe la Urbo kaj cxiam purema Sankta Filipe trovigxas kelkaj produktoj el liaj elmetitaj laboroj cxe vojagxoficejoj. Ankaux kelkaj laboroj trovigxas cxe la Asocio Zé Moniz cxe Praia, Cxefurbo el Verda Kapo, kie jare liajn lertecojn kaj kreajxojn estas akceptataj kun grandega lauxdoj. TONY DI KILDA vere bedauxras ne povanta voyagxi gxis Europo kaj al Norda Ameriko ( USA ), lokoj kies liaj laboroj estas jam konataj kaj admiraj tra niaj emigrantoj kaj ankaux el kelkaj turistoj. Vere estas domagxo ke gxis nun li ne sukcesis trovi adkvatan lokon por povi instali atelieron de liaj revoj, kaj ankaux por povi helpi aliajn personojn ( junajn ), kiujn sxatas lerni skulpti. – Malfelicxe, gxis nun, la Komunumo el Mosteiros, kaj ankaux la Juneca Centro donis tre malmultan apogon al li, laux acertas TONY DI KILDA. Vere, nia granda deziro estas ke nia eterna kaj ega revulo povu trovi helpojn kiujn li vere bezonas, por helpi kaj por tiel elfini konkretizi lian egan revon el lia vivo, cxar vere li cxiam revas farigxi granda skulptisto.
Sed kiel la Prezidanto de Komonumo de Mosteiros estas persono kiu cxiam helpas la senhavulojn, ankaux ni vere esperas ke baldaux TONY DI KILDA trovos helpon kies li vere bezonas por konkretigi liajn revojn. ( Dum oni revas, oni neniam scias.).
Deziranta skribi TONY DI KILDA, por mendi kelkajn artamajn laborajxojn, vi povos skribi por la jena adreso: NELSON RODRIGUES ( TONY DI KILDA ), VILA DA IGREJA,- MOSTEIROS- ILHA DO FOGO – REPUBLICA DE CABO VERDE.
Par: ZORGATO DE LA MUZOJ.
THE ETERNAL DREAMER
THE ETERNAL DREAMER TONI DI KILDA, whose real name is Nelson RODRIGUES, always dreams of opening a Sculpture Workshop in the town of Igreja, the Administrative Capital of the Municipality of Mosteiros, on the Island of Fogo, the volcanic Island of the Cape Verde Islands.
From the time he was a child, TONY DI KILDA has witnessed a real passion for Sculpture. But, he had only seriously begun more than 20 years of sculpting, decorating, painting, painting, and re-collecting discarded objects at sweepers. He is very concerned about environmental issues. Every day he always produces, hoping that there will be emigrants, and tourists always wanting to buy his beautiful works and memories of a volcanic island. In the City and always clean São Felipe are some products of his work exhibited at travel agencies. There are also a number of works at the Zé Moniz Association in Praia, the capital of Cabo Verde, where every year his skills and creations are received with great praise. TONY DI KILDA really regrets not being able to travel to Europe and North America (USA), places whose work is already known and admired by our emigrants and also by some tourists. It is a pity that so far he has not been able to find a suitable place to be able to set up a workshop of his dreams, and also to be able to help other people (young people) who like to learn to sculpt. Unfortunately, so far, the Municipality of Mosteiros, as well as the Youth Center have given very little support to him, according to TONY DI KILDA. Truly, our great desire is for our eternal and great dreamer to be able to find the help he really needs, to help and thus to make his great dream come true in his life, because he really always dreams of becoming a great sculptor.
But as the President of the Municipality of Mosteiros is a person who always helps the poor, we also really hope that soon TONY DI KILDA will find the help he really needs to make his dreams come true. (While dreaming, you never know.)
If you wish to write TONY DI KILDA, to order some artwork, you can write to the following address: NELSON RODRIGUES (TONY DI KILDA), VILLA DA IGREJA, – MOSTEIROS- ILHA DO FOGO – REPUBLICA DE CABO VERDE.
For: CARE OF THE MUSES.2
Some of my best memories of life in Mosteiros was just sitting in the park with Toni, hearing how excited he got about his art and watching him do his craft. I remember Toni holding my hand in a firm shake when I told him that if Cesaria Evora could be discovered, so could he, because he was no less talented. Sadly, my prediction would never come true.
While he was as happy as anyone I’d ever seen during festas such as Carnival—which Toni celebrated with the fullest of passion—when money was tight, he’d spend more time drunk than sober. Toni and I would often lock eyes as he came home with black eyes, cuts, and other injuries. I would often hear loud arguments from his home and heard disturbing rumors of domestic violence that troubled me deeply and stressed our friendship.
When I left the country in 2004, I was only able to take with me one small figure, a piece he’d made specifically for me to remember him by. While I’d planned on only being away for two years, one way made way for another and my return kept getting delayed. One day I learned Toni had been murdered. I have not been able to find details of his death, which I believe occurred in May of 2016. From the Mosteiros City Council’s website:
Obituário: Morreu artesão Tony de Quilda
Nelson Rodrigues, 40 anos, mais conhecido por Tony de Quilda, faleceu na noite de sábado, 23. As informações sobre a causa de sua morte são escassas. Aguarda-se pela realização da autopsia ao corpo do malogrado que deve acontecer no início desta semana.
Tony de Quilda foi artesão e artista plástico, entusiasta do carnaval, tendo-se igualmente dedicado à música. Foi também pintor e pescador.
Integrou delegações do município dos Mosteiros participantes em exposições dentro e fora da ilha. A convite da Câmara Municipal representou o concelho do café na primeira edição do Fonartes, realizado em 2011, em São Vicente, e na primeira edição do AME, realizado na Praia, em 2013, fora outras feiras e mostras locais e regionais.
Foi um dos artesãos homenageados em Agosto do ano passado pelo presidente da Câmara Municipal dos Mosteiros, por ocasião das festas do município.
Nas redes sociais vários artistas e artesãos têm manifestado seu pesar pela perda de um companheiro de profissão em quem reconhecem muito talento. Dezenas de familiares e amigos também têm prestado, pelas redes sociais o seu pesar pelo desaparecimento físico de Tony de Quilda.
A Câmara Municipal dos Mosteiros endereça a todos os familiares, amigos e colegas de profissão as mais sentidas condolências pelo falecimento de Nelson Rodrigues – Tony de Quilda.
Obituary: Craftsman Toni di Kilda has died
Nelson Rodrigues, 40 years old, who is better known as Toni di Kilda, has died on Saturday night, the 23rd. There is little information available about the cause of his death. The autopsy of the deceased is awaited and should happen at the beginning of this week.
Toni di Kilda was a flexible artist, an enthusiast of Carnival, and has dedicated himself to music. He was also a painter and a fisherman.
He was included in delegations from the municipality of Mosteiros, participating in exhibitions on and off the island [of Fogo]. At the invitation of the City Council, he represented the coffee-producing county in the first edition of Fonartes, held in 2011 in São Vicente, as well as in the first edition of AME which was held in Praia in 2013, in addition to other fairs and local and regional shows.
He was one of the artisans honored in August of last year by the City Hall of Mosteiros on the occasion of the municipality’s festivities.
Several artists and artisans across social media have expressed their sorrow for the loss of a professional companion who they recognized abundant talent. Dozens of family members and friends have also expressed their condolences through the social networks for the physical loss of Toni di Kilda. The City Hall of Mosteiros sends its deepest condolences to all family members, friends, and colleagues on the death of Nelson Rodrigues—Toni di Kilda.3
Toni is deeply missed. He is one of the inspirations for the creation of this website which will strive to promote the works of talented Cabo Verdeans in his memory.
Did you know Toni? I’ll leave the comments section open. Please share any memories and links to images of his art in the comments below!
Footnotes:
- Revista da Câmara Municipal Dos Mosteiros, Number 0: August 2005. Edited by Fernando R.T. Ortet. Page 13. English translation by Cliff Hansen. http://www.cmmost.cv/uploads/files/2017/10/revista-mosteiros-n-0-agosto2005-1507133913.pdf
- La Eterna Revemulo. Unknown author. English translation by Google Translate with small edits by Cliff Hansen. http://niajdeziroj.unblog.fr/2010/03/06/la-eterna-revemulo/
- Obituário: Morreu artesão Tony de Quilda. Municipality of Mosteiros City Hall’s website as archived by Wayback Machine. Unknown author. English translation by Cliff Hansen. https://web.archive.org/web/20160429133752/http://cmmost.cv/index.php/noticias/2028-obituario-morreu-artesao-tony-de-quilda