Father of the musically driven Tavares family, “Flash” Tavares was known for filling the Foxpoint community with Cape Verdean melodies.  Born into a family of 10,  his mother immigrated from Sao Nicolau in the Cape Verde Islands while his father was born in Santiago.  Like many Fox Pointers, Flash was a self-taught musician who cultivated his remarkable musical intuition by listening to radio tunes as a child.  Far from formal, Flash plucked his first strings on a hand-made ukulele only to graduate to a Salvation-Army donated two-string guitar at the age of seven.  Flash jammed with various local Fox Point groups touring throughout New England and New York in the 1940’s .  He often performed duets alongside his sister, Vickie Vieira Tavares.  Flash was inducted into the 2006 Cape Verdean Museum Exhibit Hall of Fame  for not only bringing together the Cape Verdean community with his blues beats and warming voice, but for his smooth fusing of jazz and traditional Cape Verdean sound. He died at age 88 in his home of Hyannis, MA, and is succeeded by his talented sons of the band, Tavares. - Jeanine Mason & Cheyenne Morrin

  The Cape Verdean Progressive Center first began as an iteration of the East Providence Cape Verdean Men’s Club started in 1939, from which wives were excluded. In 1940, 26 wives founded the CV Women’s Club and began raising money to buy or build a space to hold meetings. In 1950, Ambrose Mendes donated the plot where the building currently stands, and a year later, the women convinced the men to join them in creating one Cape Verdean Progressive Center. The building was completed in 1952. The CV Progressive Center was used as a space for parties, social gatherings, drinking, and performances. Many Cape Verdean artists began performing there early in their careers, including Vickie and Flash Tavares. - Jeanine Mason