PAWTUCKET -- There was a time, in the days of sailing ships, when Cape Verde was the crossroads of the world.

Ships from Europe, Africa, Arabia, America and the Orient stopped for water and food, andto make repairs. The great whaling ships of New Bedford and Nantucket recruited there, hiring the Cape Verdean men who were among the best sailors on the planet.

The sailing ships are gone, but Cape Verde remains a crossroads still. Music converges there.

Cape Verdean musicians have taken the place of the country’s sailors -- Cape Verde’s musicians are among the best in the world.

"The Cape Verde islands are rich in music," said Jack Pina. "Music is one of our greatest products."

Pina is in a position to know.

He is the owner of LigAfrica, 180 Mineral Spring Ave., which has become the local center for music from Cape Verde, Brazil, Africa and the Caribbean.

It is also the best place to buy the music of Jack Pina, an internationally-known singer of mourna, the Cape Verde blues.

On a busy Friday, Pina was pulling together his band for a show to be held Saturday in Swansea featuring Maria de Barros, a former Pawtucket native who is on tour supporting her latest album, Danca Ma Mi, released by Virgin Records.

Pina has also performed -- in Pawtucket, no less -- with his friend Cesaria Evora, the Cape Verdean mourna singer who is one of the biggest names in world music today.

Pina started LigAfrica in 1996, in part to provide his friends with a place to get the music they could find in Cape Verde, Paris, Lisbon or Senegal, but could not find here.

He also realized that music would not make him rich, no matter how many of his CDs were sold.

"I recorded my first CD in France, and it did well," he said. "The company promised me a lot. I’ve never been paid."

He moved his store to Mineral Spring Avenue in 1997, as soon as the bridge was opened, and has grown since in scope, though profits remain slim, Pina said.

Now, you can buy luggage, bathing suits, DVD players, boom boxes, international power adapters and microwaves in the store. A new stock of guitars hang from the ceiling. There are posters of Ziggy Marley and Sean Paul, an advertisement for Maria De Barros’ concert, and DVDs for sale, including scenes from the New Year’s Eve Party of 2004 in Whites of Westport, Mass.

Music in the store is sorted by country and type. Music from Guinea and Sao Tome is next to the racks for Zouk, the party music of the French-speaking Caribbean. The selection from Brazil rivals the selection from Cape Verde.

"We started with the music, the CDs from Cape Verde, Brazil, Africa and the Caribbean," Pina said. "We want to bring that music and those cultures here. We want to bring people together, musically."

But he expanded his offerings when customers asked him to do so, beginning by adding luggage that leaves his store on a one-way trip to Cape Verde, Haiti, Jamaica or Brazil.

"When we travel, we always come back emptyhanded," he said.

LigAfrica is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. most days. If you can’t find what you are looking for, ask. The store is there to help, Pina said.

"I started this store to try to develop our culture, to bring together many cultures," Pina said. "Maybe that’s a mistake. It might be a mistake to mix business with my heart.

"But I’m happy if I can spread our culture, even if I don’t see much money.

"I’m here, surviving, every day. I’m okay."