Tarrafal, Cape Verde (municipality)

For other uses, see Tarrafal (disambiguation).

Tarrafal is a concelho (municipality) of Cape Verde. It is situated in the northern part of the island of Santiago. Its seat is the town Tarrafal. Its population was 18,565 at the 2010 census, and its area is 120.8 km².^[2]

General view of the town and the bay

Beach

Saint Amaro Abade Church

Market Hall

Tarrafal
Municipality
Municipal hall of Tarrafal
Coordinates: 15.26°N 23.71°W / 15.26; -23.71
Country	Cape Verde
Island	Santiago
Area
• Total	120.8 km2 (46.6 sq mi)
Population  (2010)[1]
• Total	18,565
• Density	150/km2 (400/sq mi)
Postal code	7100
ID	71
Website	http://www.cmt.cv/

Subdivisions

The municipality consists of one freguesia (civil parish), Santo Amaro Abade. The freguesia is subdivided into the following settlements (population data from the 2010 census):^[1]

• Achada Biscanhos (pop: 310)
• Achada Lagoa (pop: 64)
• Achada Longueira (pop: 520)
• Achada Meio (pop: 211)
• Achada Moirão (pop: 587)
• Achada Tenda (pop: 1,242, town)^[3]
• Biscainhos (pop: 695)
• Chão Bom (pop: 5,166)
• Curral Velho (pop: 358)
• Fazenda (pop: 107)
• Figueira Muita (pop: 160)
• Lagoa (pop: 55)
• Mato Brasil (pop: 160)
• Mato Mendes (pop: 194)
• Milho Branco (pop: 165)
• Ponta Lobrão (pop: 435)
• Ribeira da Prata (pop: 1,009, town)^[3]
• Tarrafal (pop: 6,656, city)^[3]
• Trás os Montes (pop: 464)

History

The municipality was created in 1917, when two northern parishes of the older Municipality of Santa Catarina were split off to become the Municipality of Tarrafal. In 1997, the southeastern part of the municipality was split off to become the Municipality of São Miguel.^[4] Under Salazar the Tarrafal Concentration Camp was built on the plain south of town (Chão Bom) to contain opponents of the political regime.

Demography

Population of Tarrafal (1940—2010)

Year	Population
1940[5][6]	18,840
1950[5][6]	13,222
1960[5][6]	19,140
1970[5][6]	26,251
1980[5][6]	24,202
1990[5]	11,626
2000[5]	18,059
2010[2]	18,565

Politics

At the federal level, it belongs to the constituency of Santiago North. Since 2004, the Movement for Democracy (MpD) is the ruling party of the municipality. The results of the latest elections, in 2016:^[7]

Party	Municipal Council		Municipal Assembly
	Votes%	Seats	Votes%	Seats
MpD	53.70	7	54.22	10
PAICV	43.11	0	42.54	7

Notable people

See also: List of people from Santiago, Cape Verde § Tarrafal

• Pany Varela, futsal player
• Pedro Celestino Silva Soares, footballer (soccer player)
• Silvino Lopes Évora, writer
• Mário Lúcio de Sousa, singer, member of the band Simentera
• Janício Martins, footballer (soccer player)

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Cape Verde

Tarrafal is twinned with the following municipalities in Portugal:^[8]

• Amadora
• Fundão
• Grândola
• Marinha Grande
• Moita
• Montijo