Cesária Evora

Born in Cape Verde, Cesária Évora earned recognition as the islands’ foremost interpreter of morna, a style rooted in local tradition yet shaped by West African percussion, Portuguese fados, Brazilian modhinas, and British sea shanties. At sixteen she took up the genre after crossing paths with a striking young guitarist; her abilities soon carried her to venues throughout the archipelago, and two radio sessions from the late 1960s later appeared as albums in the Netherlands and Portugal. She remained on the islands and, facing meager returns, stopped performing in the mid-1970s. In 1985, at forty-five, she chose to resume singing and traveled to Portugal to contribute two tracks to a compilation of Cape Verdean women vocalists. Those sessions opened the door to further work in Paris, producing four albums issued between 1988 and 1992. International demand followed, prompting appearances across Europe, Africa, Brazil, and Canada as well as concerts for Cape Verdean listeners in the United States. Her first extensive American tour occurred in the fall of 1995; additional releases arrived with Cabo Verde in 1997 and both Mar Azul and Cafe Atlantico in 1999. Momentum carried into the new century without interruption as she continued to record and travel widely. The 2001 album Sao Vicente showcased collaborations with Bonnie Raitt, Orquesta Aragón, and Caetano Veloso. Growing visibility in North America brought a spot on The David Letterman Show, the DVD Live in Paris, the reissue of her 1974 album Distino di Belita, and the 2004 Grammy for Best Contemporary World Music awarded to Voz d’Amor. That year French culture minister Jean-Jacques Aillagon named her an Officer des Arts et des Lettres. After another lengthy tour she returned to Mindelo to record much of the 2006 release Rogamar. Three years later Nha Sentimento appeared, again made in her hometown and featuring further songs by Teofilo Chantre. Heart ailments led to surgery in 2010; a year afterward she stepped away from the stage because of declining health. On December 17, 2011, three months after that announcement, she died in a Mindelo hospital.