Cape Verde

Cape Verde lies 350 miles off the west coast of Africa. Colonized by the Portuguese in the 1400s, the islands became a key outpost in the slave trade -- and were the last many saw of Africa before being shipped off to the Americas. It's no wonder, then, that Portugal's fado morphed into Cape Verde's morna, a style that, like fado, is focused on "sodade," or longing. For such a small system of islands, Cape Verde has had a deep impact on the world music scene. Musicians there keep equally close ties with Lisbon and Paris, and many have exported their talents and become stars.