Vicki Vierra

Vickie Tavares Vieira was born in Providence, Rhode Island into a family of 10 siblings, 8 girls and 2 boys. Her parents were immigrants from Cape Verde, her father from Santiago and her mother from Sao Nicolau. Vickie grew up in the Fox Point area of the city in a musical home. She started singing at an early age and soon became known in the Cape Verdean community for her beautiful voice and mastery of Cape Verdean music. Even as a young woman, she was willing and eager to sing at charity dances given by the women of the community, always properly chaperoned. At the age of nineteen, she began singing in local bands with her brother Flash, because that was the only way she was allowed out of the house to perform. She was only allowed to sit in with the bands in which her brother played. One of the first bands she sang in was led by “Cut” Cardoza, a fellow Fox Pointer. This band went through several leaders and finally when her brother Flash took the lead, she became a permanent member of the band. Flash and Vickie shared in the lead vocals often doing duets, singing both traditional Cape Verdean music and American jazz. Vickie never had any formal vocal training. She learned and was influenced by what she heard on the radio and early television. She was a huge follower of the female jazz greats such as Lena Horne, Della Reese, Eartha Kitt and Sarah Vaughn. Vickie and Flash developed a style of interpreting Cape Verdean music with a jazz styling which made their music distinctly American Cape Verdean. When her brother Flash went to San Francisco, California, Vickie continued playing with Cape Verdean bands. Throughout the fifties, she played up and down the East Coast, from New York to Cape Cod. Vickie was recognized as the premier female American Cape Verdean singer at this time. Vickie joined the Skyliners, a big band. She also made a recording with Phil Barboza’s Orchestra and later sang with the Duke Oliver Band. After successfully touring with these groups, she returned to her roots and her Rhode Island and Massachusetts fans. Flash had returned from California and the popular duo continued singing together. She most recently has sung with the Creole Sextet. Vickie Vieira has performed for Cape Verdeans and other audiences throughout the New England states. Her sunny personality and fine vocalization have always made her an audience favorite. In 1995, Vickie participated in the Festival of American Folklike as part of the Cape Verdean Connection’s Cape Verdean American Dance Band. She has been featured in the So Sabi Festivals and artist in residence programs sponsored by the Boston Center for the Arts. She sings on the CD “So Sabi: Cape Verdean Music from New England”, which was recorded at the festival. She has sung at the Cape Verdean Conference sponsored by The Bi-lingual Center at Brown University. She has participated in a program at the Rhode Island Children’s Museum. In earlier Cape Verdean Independence Day celebrations at India Point Park, Vickie sang the National Anthem of the United States. She appears in the film, “Some Kind of Funny Porto Rican”. When Aristedes Pereira, the first President of the Republic of Cape Verde, made his first visit to the United States, Vickie serenaded him and later gave a memorable performance at his meeting with the community. In addition to her musical talents, Vickie Vieira has a talent for friendship. She maintains lasting friendships with many people. There is a deep spiritual component to her life, evidenced by her strong faith. She is deeply committed to her religion and especially devoted to her family. Vickie Vieira makes her home in East Providence, Rhode Island, sharing her household with her beloved sister Maria. Presently she is recovering from a mild stroke. Despite this setback, Vickie promised to return to the stage in the near future.