Cesária Évora

The Profile

Cesária Évora was a Cape Verdean singer celebrated for her haunting morna and breezy coladeira, delivering songs in Cape Verdean Creole and beyond. Known as the “Barefoot Diva,” she earned worldwide acclaim in the 1990s and continued until her passing in 2011.

Grammy Award for Voz d'Amor (Best Contemporary World Music Album, 2004); known as the “Barefoot Diva”; performed barefoot; sang mainly in Cape Verdean Creole, also in Portuguese and Spanish; died in 2011.

Two reviews trace Évora’s morna/coladeira universe: a generous Best Of (from Besame Mucho to Sodade) and the expansive São Vicente Di Longe. The latter features Bonnie Raitt, Caetano Veloso, Pedro Guerra, and pianist Chucho Valdés, with songs in Cape Verdean Creole, Spanish, and Portuguese. Both pieces praise her unadorned, soulful voice and her role as a cultural ambassador for Cape Verde.