Who was Cesaria Evora?
Cesaria Evora was a Grammy Award-winning singer from Cape Verde who was popularly called ‘Barefoot Diva’ as she performed on stage without shoes. She was also a humanitarian and a United Nations World Food Programme ambassador.
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The question ‘Who was Cesaria Evora?’ has flooded the internet since the search engine Google on Tuesday, 27th August 2019, made a doodle of her singing with a microphone in front of a colorful coastal town backdrop. The colorful buildings are like the ones in Mindelo, the singer’s hometown. This day would have been the 78th birthday of the music icon, and the doodle was meant to pay tribute to her and celebrate her musical works.
Cesaria Evora profile summary
- Full name: Cesaria Evora
- Date of Birth: August 27, 1941
- Place of birth: Mindelo, Cape Verde
- Nationality: Cape Verdean
- Profession: Singer
- Nickname: Barefoot diva
- Cesaria Evora language: Kriolu; a blend of West African dialects and Portuguese
- Fun fact: She performed on stage without shoes
- Date of Death: December 17, 2011 (aged 70)
Cesaria Evora Biography
Cesaria Evora was born on Wednesday, August 27, 1941, in Mindelo, Sao Vicente, Cape Verde to Justino da Cruz Evora and Dona Joana. Her father, who was a violinist, died when she was seven years old and she was taken to an orphanage when she was 10 as her mother could not take care of all her siblings adequately.
She began singing as a teenager in bars in her hometown in Mindelo, and soon enough she was singing on local radio stations. She sang morna, a traditional music style of Cape Verde with sad or solemn and poetic tones accompanied by guitar or piano. This earned her the title ‘Queen of Morna.’ She got married 3 times, divorced in all of them and is survived by 2 children.
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Cesaria Evora musical career
She started singing in bars and local radios in her hometown. After a recording which she made on national radio, she was invited to sing throughout the Cape Verde islands and on Portuguese cruise ships that stopped at Mindelo.
Singing in Cape Verde did not pay off financially so she stopped, and only returned to singing in 1985 when a Cape Verdean women’s organization invited her to Lisbon, Portugal to record two songs for a women’s music anthology.
It was during this time that she caught the attention of a French music producer Jose da Silva, who was originally from Cape Verde. He offered her to come to France and record her songs. She followed him to Paris, France. In 1988, she recorded her first album, La Diva aux Pieds Nus. Other Cesaria Evora albums include:
- Distino di Belita in 1990
- Mar Azul in 1991
- Miss Perfumado in 1992
- Cesaria in 1995
- Cabo Verde in 1997
- Café Atlantico in 1999
- Sao Vicente di Longe in 2001
- Voz d’Amor in 2003
- Rogamar in 2006
- Nha Sentimento in 2009, two years before she died.
After her album debut in 1988, she was invited to perform live in many cities, including a performance in the Montreal Jazz Festival in 1995. Notable Cesaria Evora songs include Sodade, Petit Pays, Angola and others which have been uploaded on many YouTube channels.
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Cesaria Evora awards and honors
The Barefoot Diva received many nominations and won some of them. Some outstanding Cesaria Evora awards and honors are:
- Best Contemporary World Music Album for her Voz D'Amor album in the 46th Annual Grammy Awards(2003)
- French Legion of Honour by the French Minister of Culture and Communications Christine Albanel in 2009.
- Merit of the Jury at the Kora All African Music Awards in 2010.
- The third busiest airport in Cape Verde was named Cesaria Evora Airport, Mindelo in 2012 and a statue of the icon was erected at the entrance of the terminal.
- Her face was embossed on the Cape Verdean 2,000 Escudos note in 2014.
- In 2014, the Belgian singer and songwriter, Stromae, dedicated a track – ‘Ave Cesaria’ – in his album to pay tribute to her.
- Honored by Google with a Google Doodle in 2019.
After her death, many streets across Europe were named after her, with most of them being in France.
Cesaria Evora was an amazing singer who took Cape Verde morna to the international music world. She is celebrated internationally and in her country especially for her musical works and for being a source of inspiration to many. She was active in the music industry for over 2 decades until her demise in 2011. The music world will forever remember her.
READ ALSO:
- Cesária Évora: 7 things to know about bare foot diva honoured with Google doodle
- Top 10 richest musicians in Africa 2019
Source: Legit.ng
