Contested values of grogue in Cabo Verde

Abstract

This article explores grogue, a sugarcane-based distilled spirit of Cabo Verde, and its multifaceted and contested valuations in culture, livelihoods, and well-being. Despite Cabo Verde's challenging climate, sugarcane agriculture remains significant primarily due to the importance placed on the local production of grogue. The study described in this article investigates how grogue is perceived and valued among Cabo Verdeans, questioning why it promotes connectivity, sustainable livelihoods, and identity as a cultural asset and how it is entangled in a complicated colonial legacy, harmful health and negative societal outcomes, and neoliberal designs to modernize and industrialize as a cultural liability. The researchers conducted a thematic analysis of news stories and their associated comments from A Semana, the premiere daily online Cabo Verdean newspaper, to explore grogue's production, distribution, consumption, regulation, and valuation. The findings demonstrate various value registers, including identity, place, economic development, health, and social well-being, all of which help shape Cabo Verdeans' perspectives on grogue. This article is a crucial starting point for future research aimed at developing a comprehensive understanding of artisanal spirits' proliferation and contested values. By investigating multivocal interests behind competing ideas of valuation or devaluation of grogue, the study contributes to understanding its impacts on Cabo Verdean society.