Africa-Press – Cape verde. The funeral of Alberto Pancrácio Lopes, former Merchant Navy Captain and well-known figure in São Vicente society, will take place today, Tuesday, at 4 pm. The funeral procession will depart from the deceased’s residence, on Avenida 5 Julho, in Mindelo, São Vicente island.
The “Mr. Alberto”, as he was commonly known, was 97 years old and, according to his grandson Rui Alberto in statements to the online Mindel Insite, he had recently been losing strength, especially after a fall that took him to the Baptista de Sousa Hospital in Mindelo. .
Contribution to the development of the country’s merchant navy
Alberto Pancrácio Lopes, a well-known figure in São Vicente society, was a Merchant Navy Captain, having captained the ships “Novas de Alegria” and “Ernestina”. He was also the owner of the ships “Elsie” and “Vilma”, of his own Merchant Marine Company which, in the post-Independence years, helped to guarantee the supply and connection between the islands of Cape Verde.
The “Captain of the Seas of the Islands”, as he was also nicknamed, tirelessly contributed to the development of the country’s merchant navy.
There were several figures who reacted to the death of what they consider an “illustrious Cape Verdean of fine treatment” given his “extreme friendliness and incomparable elegance”, with which he treated those who related to him.
Dedication from the professor, writer and researcher Brito-Semedo
The eminent professor, writer and researcher, Brito-Semedo dedicated a poem by Osvaldo Alcântara to him that shows the greatness of the “Wolf of the Seas of the Islands” as he was affectionately known. We publish here, with due reverence, the aforementioned poem by Osvaldo Alcântara that we picked up from Professor Brito-Semedo’s Magaine Cultural ESQUINA DO TEMPO.
The Nation offers heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family.
“The captain of a ship from the islands died today.
It wasn’t because he was good
and affectionately sucked the smoke from his cigarette
when you talked to me
I went to his funeral.
Not even because I met
the nautical tragedies
which served as the foundation for the only poem,
among flowers and whitewashed,
that he wrote in this life.
I went to your funeral because I’m an heirloom hunter
and I wanted to confess my gratitude
for the wealth he left,
for its disproportionate dimension of the world
and for its incorporation into the sailboat we all sail on.”
Osvaldo Alcântara, in Canticle of the Future Morning, 1986
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