Cesária Évora

Cesária Évora (born Mindelo, São Vicente Island, Cape Verde, 27 August 1941), is a Cape Verdean popular singer. Nicknamed the “barefoot diva” for her preference for performing without shoes,^[1] Évora is perhaps the best internationally-known practitioner of morna.

History

Cesária Évora lost her father at the age of seven. After his death, Cesária's mother struggled to support her on meager earnings as a cook, eventually entrusting Cesária to the care of an orphanage. It was in the orphanage choir that Cesária first learned to sing.

At 16, Cesária met a Cape Verdean sailor named Eduardo who taught her the traditional Cape Verdean styles of music of coladeiras and mornas. The mornas are songs of sadness, sorrow and yearning. She began singing in local bars and hotels. With the help of local musicians, she would hone her skills and would later be proclaimed “Queen of Mornas” by her fans. She became famous in Cape Verde, but remained relatively unknown internationally.

Cesária had an uncle who was a well-known musician and songwriter who used the name B. Leza (a pun on beleza = “beauty”). Many of Cesária's loveliest songs on the first several albums are his.

Évora remained popular at the time but her fame did not lead to financial success. Frustrated by personal and financial problems, compounded by the very difficult economic and political situation in Cape Verde, Évora gave up singing to support her family. She didn't perform for 10 years, which she describes as her “dark years”. During this time she struggled with alcoholism.

Cesária resumed performing after being encouraged by a Cape Verdean exile, leading musician and patron of the arts, Bana, who lived in Portugal. He secured invitations to Portugal where she performed a series of concerts sponsored by a local women's organization.

A Frenchman of Cape Verdean descent named José Da Silva persuaded her to go to Paris where she recorded a new album, La diva aux pieds nus (The Barefoot Diva) in 1988. The song “Sodade” was her first international hit, the first hit for a non-French song in France, and marked the beginning of worldwide fame for Cesária Évora. The Portuguese term saudade is complex and infamously difficult to translate, related to homesickness, nostalgia, longing, sadness, and regret. The expression of “sodade” is integral to Cape Verdean music. This album won critical acclaim and began for her a dramatic comeback that accelerated with her 1992 album, Miss Perfumado. She became an international star at the age of 47.

Discography

Studio albums

La Diva Aux Pieds Nus (1988)
Distino de Belita (1990)
Mar Azul (1991)
Miss Perfumado (1992)
Cesária (1995)
Cabo Verde (1997)
Café Atlantico (1999)
São Vicente di Longe (2001)
Voz d'Amor (2003)
Rogamar (2006)

Compilations & live albums

Sodade - Les Plus Belles Mornas de Cesária (Best of compilation, 1994)
Club Sodade (Remix album, 1996)
Live à L'Olympia (Live album, recorded at the Paris Olympia, 1996)
Colors of the World (Allegro Music, 1997)
Best Of' (Best of compilation, 1998)
Anthology (Best of compilation, 2002)
Anthologie - Mornas & Coladeras (Double CD edition of Anthology, 2004)
Live D'Amor (Live DVD, recorded in 2004 at Le Grand Rex, Paris, 2004)

External References

References

^ globeandmail.com: Print Edition

[1] .com: Print Edition

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