WASHINGTON - By order and mandate of his excellency Pedro Pires, President of the Republic of Cape Verde, professor Russel Hamilton, Ph. D., was bestowed on Friday, March 28, with the medalha do vulcão, the medal of the volcano, Cape Verde's highest award given to a civilian. FORCV columnist Miguel Vieira was present at the event. The following words and photographs should hopefully display to the readers the overall depth of the event and the biological context of the awardee, Professor Russel, Ph. D.

Dr. Hamilton, Ph.D. Yale (1965), a native of New Haven, Connecticut, where he earned his first college degree from its flagship University, (Uconn), and his doctorate from Ivy League Yale University, currently teaches Portuguese and Brazilian and Lusophone African Literatures at Vanderbilt University in the state of Tennessee.

Hamilton became intimately acquainted with Cape Verdeans at a very young age. Being from New Haven, Connecticut, a city where Cape Verdeans have resided in for roughly two centuries, Prof. Hamilton had ample exposure to Cape Verde's cultural mores via its people, then colloquially addressed as black Portuguee or simply as bravas, the island where most Cape Verdeans then hailed from.

Evidently, a "Portuguee" uncle of his who had married one of his biological aunts suggested that he learn about the Portuguese language and culture. Later on Professor Hamilton learned that the cultural matrix of his "Portuguee" uncle was actually Cape Verdean. And the vaguely Portuguese sounding language he'd often heard his uncle speak, he later learned was Kriolu, the native language of Cape Verdeans.

Doctor Hamilton was at once perplexed and intrigued by this revelation. It captivated his imagination. So he was compelled to learn on a more deeper level about the "Portuguees". What were their true cultural, linguistic, geographical, and historical contexts? He found the answers to these questions thorough the written word, through books - the canon - that is, as written by Cape Verdean writers and other wide ranging list of authors from other African lusophone countries as well as those from Portugal, Brazil, Goa in India, and Macau, in China.

The literary works of the Claridosos, the 1930's CV writers who emphasized and celebrated their CaboVerdianidade instead of their imposed "Portugueseness" at a time when such philosophical points of views could and did cost many Cape Verdeans their freedom, impressed him deeply. The literary works of Germano Almeida, among others, had an impact also in his sojourn thorough the Canon of the Cape Verde islands and other Lusophone nations. His reading repertoire in all things "luso" was, in short, heterogeneous, and voluminous.

An Amazing literal and literary voyage

Speaking in impeccable Portuguese flavored by a Bahia Brazilian accent, Professor Hamilton, alongside his beloved wife of more than 40 years, stated that he was deeply honored to have been accorded the "medalha do vulcão" honor. He further went on to detail the origin of his interest in the Lusophone world which emanated as a result of his exposure to Cape Verdeans beginning in the 1940's. Consequently, he was able to embark upon a literal literary journey that took him to the state of Bahia in Brazil where he studied as a Fulbright fellow at its University for two years, 1960 to 1962, onto all the five former Portuguese African colonies (Angola, Mozambique, Guinea Bissau, São Tomé & Principe, and Cape Verde). 1971 was when he first traveled to Cape Verde, then under Salazar's colonial regime.

In 1978, Professor Hamilton made a second visit to Cape Verde. He was able to meet with then President Aristides Pereira. Pointing to a photography of the former President Pereira up on the wall at the CV embassy, he fondly recalled having met with the first President of Cape Verde. That meeting emboldened his resolve to further help Cape Verde via the power of the written and spoken word, his forte. To appropriately quote him, "the canon has an amazing ability to empower, beautify and transform". This he said in flawless Portuguese peppered by the accent of the Baihianos, the accent that the aforementioned unapologetically claim are the sounds of the angels above.

After years of extensive visits, literary research and reading in all things Luso, given particular emphasis to the African elements, in 1975, the year when all the Lusophone African countries became independent, Professor Hamilton was able to write and publish his book Voices from an Empire: A History of Afro-Portuguese Literature. In this beautifully written book, the ability of the written word to inspire, transform and empower is evidenced from page one to the end.

Moreover, of the ability of the written word to accomplish the said adjectival attributes, the distinguished guests present at Professor Hamilton's condecoration, had no doubt. Such guests included among others, as seen in the picture below from right to left, the Ambassador of Mozambique to the United States, His Excellency Armando Alexandre Pangune. The deputy Minister of Education of Mozambique, Luis Covane, Cape Verde's Ambassador to the U.S. Her excellency Dr. Fatima Veiga, the honoree Professor Russel Hamilton. The Ambassador of Angola to the U.S. Her excellency Josefina Pitra Diakité. And the Ambassador of Portugal to the United States, His excellency João de Vallera.



Her Excellency Ambassador Mrs. Fatima Veiga clips the "medalha" in Dr. Hamilton's coat pocket



The event took place at the Cape Verde Embassy in the United States located on Massachusetts avenue, Washington, D.C. right across from the official residency of the Vice president of the United States. The atmosphere was congenial with an air of academic finesse befitting Dr. Hamilton, a lifelong and accomplished academic. The audience was small, predominantly female, and it had an eclectic visage that crossed generational lines. The picture below speaks for the said description.



In addition, one of the guests, a woman in her apparent 40's, was acknowledged by Professor Hamilton as having earned a Ph.D. under his tutelage at the University of Minnesota(UM), where he began his academic career. Professor Hamilton taught at the University of Minnesota for twenty years.

All things considered, his excellency Pedro Pires is to be commended for having taken the initiative to award Professor Hamilton with the Medalha do Vulcão, a befitting award for one who's consistently used the powerful tool that is the written word to advance the beloved nation of Cape Verde. On this final appurtenant note, congratulations to Professor Hamilton and may he continue to successfully employ the literary canon as a tool to inspire and empower individuals all over the lusophone nations and Diasporas (CPLP and PALOP) and in the rest of the known political and physical world.

Parabens!

Professor Hamilton and Miguel Vieira would like to get feedback from you all. So do write on your thoughts and any suggestions via the written word right here in the people's forum, your CV issues forum of choice.