I met Cesaria Evora in January 1998, thanks to my Brazilian friend. When I heard that voice, all I asked was: “Who owns this sad and impressive voice? Who was the woman who sang these songs so heartily?”
Later I learn that the sadness I felt in her while listening to her songs was real. Most of her life was spent in pain, and she really reflected her sadness in her songs. A woman who has become truly famous after the age of 47 and has remained the same as she has always been, even though she has accomplished many successful works later on…
In one of her interviews, she said, “Whether a fisherman or the president of America sits in front of me while I sing, even if I am in a big concert hall, I always sing the same songs to the audience. It's like singing in a bar on the island. When I'm on stage, I don't feel happy or sad, I feel I exist when I sing my songs. I am an ordinary simple person, it is not difficult to understand me, ”says she.
Cesária Évora (27 August 1941 – 17 December 2011), more commonly known as Cize, was a Cape Verdean singer-songwriter. She received a Grammy Award in 2004 for her album Voz d'Amor. Nicknamed the "Barefoot Diva" for performing without shoes, she was known as the "Queen of Morna".
She explains that she went on stage barefoot: “Everybody was walking around barefoot on the island where I live, and that's how I feel comfortable. If you've always walked barefoot, you feel like your freedom is restricted when you wear shoes."
When I learned that artists such as Madonna and Ricky Martin were also her fans, I was glad that her value was appreciated. She was the woman who casually declined Madonna's offer when she asked her to sing on her birthday and at her wedding...
Just as Cesaria took Billie Holiday, Oum Kalsaum, Amalia Rodrigues, Charles Aznavour, and Edith Piaf as her role models; Many artists, from Madonna to Greek singer Eleftheria Arvanitaki and Erykah Badu, were also influenced by her.
She didn't like to interview journalists either, but even though she accepted the interview offer, it was limited to 10 minutes. The common complaint of all journalists was that it was difficult to interview her and that she did not like to talk about herself very much.
She is famous for her barefoot singing as well as the table and chair she has set up in the middle of the stage. The cigarette pack is always on the table. She would take a cigarette break in the middle of a concert or when she was sick of being addicted, and she would have a drink instead of water on her table until she quit drinking in 1995.
Born and raised on one of the Cape Verdi archipelagos in the Atlantic Ocean near northwest Africa, she began singing when she was a very young girl, accompanying her father to play the violin. After losing her father at the age of 7, she was not very happy when her mother gave her to an orphanage. She said, “I am most upset about the restriction of my freedom, I am very disturbed by this situation,” she said. She says that music school is 'bars', whatever she learned there, good or bad, just as she was used to drinking a lot there...
With the declining trade after the Cape Verde Islands were freed from Portuguese domination and become independent, Cesaria was also unable to make money from the bars.
She took a break from music for ten years in 1975. Shortly after starting music again, she met 47-year-old French manager/producer Da Silva in Lisbon. She convinced Cesira to record her songs in France.
Da Silvia became the person who changed Cesira's life in an instant after her 1988 album Barefoot Diva. But at the age of 53 (1994), she had become an internationally famous singer. She has signed many successful albums throughout her life.
She gave concerts in many countries of the world, her fan base increased even more after the album Café Atlantico, and this album sold 300,000 copies in one year only in France.
As she embarked on her first North American tour, Madonna, David Byrne, Branford Marsalis, and New York high society flocked to the Bottom Line concert hall to see her.
In 2000, Cafe Atlantico was nominated for Grammy awards, and in 2001, Cesaria was awarded the "best world album" at the French Victoire de la Music Awards. In 2004, she released Live D' Amor album.
Cesaria Evora's "The sea is always there for the people living on the island, we can't forget about it. It hides and protects us. She is a source of hope. Prayers are always made on her behalf. Rogamar's album (Roga: Praying, mar: sea) was recorded in Paris, Rio de Janeiro, and her hometown of Mindelo.
The most meaningful award Cesaria received during her lifetime was the title of "cultural ambassador" given by her country.
After she became famous, she spent half of the year on tour and the rest of her time on the island where she was born and raised.
He had an emergency open heart surgery in Paris in May 2010, the operation was successful, but she needed to rest until the New Year.
She started touring again in March 2011 and by September she was not feeling well. She passed away three months after she announced to her fans that she could no longer continue her career. (December 17, 2011)
Although her death saddened all her fans like me, as we listened to her muffled, heartfelt, sad voice, she left behind very beautiful songs that we were influenced by. I can say that Nho Antone Escaderote, Besame Mucho, Sodade, Historia De Un Amor, and Petit Pays are the first ones that come to my mind as my favorite songs.
As I write these lines, Cesaria is watching me from above, and with all her desperation and her demeanor, I am sure she is saying: “If you love my songs, listen, but what is the need to write about me, talk about me, praise me, tell others… I am an ordinary simple person and I love to sing, this is everything."
And I hope our readers will like her voice as much as I do, Youtube will help you with this.
Studio Albums:
La Diva Aux Pieds Nus (1988)
Distino di Belita (1990)
Mar Azul (1991)
Miss Perfumado (1992)
Cesaria Evora (1995)
Cabo Verde (1997)
Café Atlantico (1999)
Sao Vicente di Longe (2001)
Voz d'Amor (2003)
Rogamar (2006)
Nha Sentimiento (2009)
Cesaira&… (2010)