Cesária Évora (Mindelo, 27 August 1941 – São Vicente, 17 December 2011) was a folk singer from Cape Verde. She was known as the 'barefoot diva' because she habitually took to the stage barefoot. Évora began her career as a singer in Mindelo on the island of São Vicente. When she was just twenty, she was already singing about romantic disappointments and the remote location of the Cape Verde Islands, released on CD under the name Radio Mindelo. Évora sang coladeras (catchy songs suitable for the dance floor) or mornas (Cape Verdean blues). In 2004, she won a Grammy Award for 'Best Contemporary World Music Album'.
Her music is regarded by many as world music. She usually sang in Cape Verdean Creole, sometimes also in Portuguese and French. 'Sodade' (Saudade) is a term that frequently recurs in the melancholic songs. Her work was remixed by various big names in the DJ scene, including Carl Craig, Osunlade and Kerri Chandler, and she collaborated with big names such as Eleftheria Arvanitaki, Marisa Monte, Bonnie Raitt, Compay Segundo, Kassav' and Caetano Veloso.
In 2009, she released a completely new CD (Nha sentimento), an album that combined the weight and lightness of her voice, with considerably more Latin and samba influences than usual.
Miss Perfumado, Cesaria and Cabo Verde are well-known works of hers. Her best-known songs are "Sangue De Beirona", "Tchintchirote" and "Sodade".
Since 2005, her health declined, and she underwent several operations. This forced her to end her career at the end of September 2011. On 17 December 2011, Évora died at the age of 70 from heart failure.
As a tribute to Cesária Évora, São Pedro Airport was renamed Cesária Évora International Airport on 8 March 2012.
Stromae
The song 'Ave Cesaria' is a tribute by Stromae to the Cape Verdean singer Cesaria Evora. He sings here a fictional love story between her and Stromae. The song appears in 2013 on the album Racine Carrée.
Top 2000
In the 24th edition of the Top 2000, there are no listings for Cesária Évora.
Sunday Morning Classic
At Christmas on 25 December 2022, Cesária Évora stood among the decorations on our Sunday Morning Classic stage with her album Miss Perfumado.
Miss Perfumado is her fourth album and was released in 1992. More than 300,000 copies have been sold worldwide. It included one of her most celebrated songs, "Sodade", composed by Armando Zeferino Soares. The album made her known to a wider audience. If you wonder how the reissue on vinyl sounds, I can tell you it is fantastic. The remastering was done in 2012 by Greg Calby and Steve Fallone at Sterling Sounds in NYC.
I wish even a fraction of the attention given to the Buena Vista Social Club releases (as great as they are) would be given to this LP. Every track is a pleasure to listen to, whether slow or fast. It can be played in any situation – a romantic candlelit dinner, a party or as general background music.
Source: Wikipedia Photo: Silvio Tanaka and As fotos da Virada
