The exclamation mark to A Vontade’s 2023 was our November move to UNESCO World Heritage Site Cidade Velha (the “Old City”).
Thanks to a partnership with the Rodrigues Family, our new headquarters just 13 minutes outside of Praia boasts plenty of outdoor space to entertain, three rental villas and a gift shop! Having studied African American Studies, it is surreal to now live and work in the middle of the first European colonial outpost in the tropics, and a major player in the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade. Despite its heavy history, Cidade Velha is now a peaceful haven. As a part of our mission, we focus on the importance of appreciating and learning from the pain and the triumphs of the past. And this place marks important lessons in both. Our space sits a few doors down from Nossa Senhora do Rosario, the oldest colonial church in the tropics. I’d call that a blessing! Being able to see the ocean from the cabana, smell the tangy maracuja growing above the pergola, hear the rustle of leaves of the banana trees interchanged with the singing of roosters is a dream come true.
Come visit! And in the meantime, check out our video of our new home HERE.
