Feliciano Vierra Tavares
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| Born | Feliciano Vierra Tavares Senior (1920-10-29)October 29, 1920
Providence, Rhode Island, U.S
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| Died | December 17, 2008(2008-12-17) (aged 88)
Hyannis, Massachusetts, U.S
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| Nationality | Cape Verdean American |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer, guitarist |
| Known for | Father of the Tavares Brothers |
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Feliciano Vierra "Flash" Tavares Sr. (October 29, 1920 – December 17, 2008) was a Cape Verdean American musician, singer and guitarist based in Massachusetts. He was the patriarch of the musical Tavares family, which included the Tavares Brothers, a successful Grammy-winning R&B band in the 1970s and 1980s. The band was made from five of Tavares' sons.[1] Tavares was known professionally as Flash.
Tavares was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on October 29, 1920.[2] He was a self-taught musician who learned by listening to the radio and Cape Verdean music at an early age.[2] Tavares, a long time resident of Hyannis, Massachusetts, was considered to be an influential cultural figure within the Cape Verdean American community in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.[1] The father of all five members of Tavares, whose hits included "It Only Takes a Minute" and "Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel", Tavares advocated for the traditional Cape Verdean music.[1] Following his death in 2008, it was noted that "Flash inspired a lot of kids to play music, and he kept the Cape Verdean musical heritage alive."[1] Tavares remained active within the musical community in his 80s despite an early diagnosis of prostate cancer.[1] He was able to travel to Cape Verde and continued to perform solo until he was 84 years old.[1] In 2007, Tavares and his sister, singer Vicki Vierra, were inducted into the Hall of Fame at the Cape Verdean museum in East Providence, Rhode Island.[1]
Feliciano "Flash" Vierra Tavares died at his home in Hyannis, Massachusetts, on December 17, 2008, at the age of 88.[1] He was survived by his second wife of 38 years, Grace.[2] His first wife, Albina Gomes Tavares (1913–1981, the mother of the five Tavares brothers), and daughter, Eva Baptiste, as well as 10 siblings had predeceased him.[2] He was also survived by three daughters Jenny Mello, Deolinda Borges, Kathleen Clarke; seven sons (including all five members of the Tavares brothers) John Baptiste, Ralph, Arthur, Antone, Victor, Feliciano Jr., and Perry Tavares; one sister, Victoria Tavares Vierra; and 53 grandchildren, 49 great-grandchildren and 18 great-great-grandchildren.[2]
Tavares, a 35-year member of the Baháʼí Faith community of Barnstable, Massachusetts, was buried at St. Francis Xavier Cemetery in Centerville, Massachusetts.[2]
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