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Artist
Cesária Ãvora
12+ albums
about
Cesária Évora (born August 27, 1941 in Mindelo, Cape Verde) is a Cape Verdean folk singer. Nicknamed the "barefoot diva" for her habit of performing without shoes, Evora is perhaps the best-known practicioner of morna — a local genre related to Portuguese fado and Brazilian modinha, with a sensibility often compared to the blues. Cesaria Evora's hometown has long been the cultural center of Cape Verde. Her father died when she was seven. Her mother struggled to support her on her meager earnings as a cook and eventually put her in the care of an orphanage. It was in the orphanage choir that she first learnt to sing. At age 16 she met a Cape Verdean sailor named Eduardo who taught her the traditional Cape Verdean styles of music of coladeras and mornas. The mornas (which may be derived from the word mourn) 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. In 1975, Cape Verde gained independence but its new leader Amilcar Cabral was assassinated during the turmoil that accompanied the end of five centuries of Portuguese rule. Évora was still 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