I really wanted to like this film. So I went to the screening and a colloquium organised by Filmoteca Canaria and featuring the very Tchinda Andrade, whose name became an affectionate word to refer to queer people on São Vicente. Perhaps I was expecting too much. I didn’t stay for colloquium though.
I mean, it’s not bad. It’s just during these 94 minutes not much happens. During the run-up to Carnival, Elvis Tolentino is busy designing and making the dresses. Tchinda Andrade sells her homemade street food, coxinhas de Tchinda. The third protagonist, Edinha Pitanga, does nothing apart from smoking, chatting, and dancing samba in the end. There’s no plot, no development, no drama. Also, for a change, no misery and no violence. Is this enough for a documentary? I’m not sure. For all I know, it could have been a promo commissioned by Cape Verdean tourist board to position São Vicente as LGBTQ+ friendly destination. Which, again, is not a bad thing. And you can’t go wrong with the music of Cesária Évora.
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