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“I'm an ordinary woman. Not too happy. Not rich, not beautiful - just a woman, like millions.”
Cesaria Evora
- Cesaria Evora was born in 1941 in the city of Mindelo on the Cape Verde Islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean near Africa. Her family was poor, but friendly - Cesaria grew up with 4 brothers. When the girl was 7 years old, her father died. This loss was very difficult for the family, and little Cesaria especially grieved, because she was her father’s favorite. The mother was not able to feed the children alone, so she gave her daughter to a shelter with Catholic nuns. The 3 years that Cesaria spent there were unbearable for her, because she was deprived of what she valued most - freedom. At the age of 13, she returned home and began helping her mother with housework.
- In her free time from work, the girl performed in bars in her hometown. Moreover, she sang exclusively in the morna genre. These are traditional songs from the Cape Verde Islands, influenced by African motifs, as well as Brazilian and Portuguese rhythms. The name comes from either the English verb to mourn (“to mourn”) or from the Portuguese word morno (“warm”). Cesaria herself said about her music this way: “The morna style was woven from everything that surrounded us on the island: the sea, love and longing for something inexplicable.”
- At the age of 16, Cesaria met her first love - musician and sailor Eduardo João Shalina. They met in a bar, where the girl expected to sing - for free or at least for a few cigarettes. Eduardo heard her voice and was fascinated. True, he noted that she sang too quietly and advised her to be bolder. Later, the man made Evora a local celebrity: he negotiated with the owners of cafes and bars, organized performances and even put together an ensemble for her. It seemed that happiness was already so close, but soon Eduardo boarded a ship and sailed away from little Mindelo forever, as he had serious plans on the mainland. Cesaria never saw him again.
- For almost 20 years, the singer performed in cafes and restaurants, occasionally appearing on local radio. But Evora dreamed of real fame, she wanted her work to become popular in other countries. Alas, these dreams were not destined to come true soon. In 1975, a political revolution took place in the Cape Verde Islands, they finally gained independence from Portugal and received the name the Republic of Cape Verde. True, these changes entailed a severe financial crisis. Cesaria was forced to leave the stage for 10 years because her songs stopped bringing her money.
- Gradually, life in Cape Verde began to improve, and fellow musicians asked Evora to return to creativity again. Moreover, they persuaded her to travel to Lisbon to speak to the Cape Verdian diaspora. It was in the Portuguese capital that Cesaria recorded her first album. At that time she was already 43 years old.
- In one of the restaurants where the singer performed, she was noticed by a Frenchman with Cape Verdian roots named Jose da Silva. He was amazed by her voice and colorful songs, so he convinced Evora to go to France with him. At the age of 47, Cesaria fulfilled her old dream - she saw the Eiffel Tower.
- José da Silva was not mistaken. In Paris, Cesaria enjoyed success; she recorded 3 more albums, which finally broke through the ethnic barrier and brought the singer the fame of “the aristocrat of restaurant music” - as local journalists called her. The French were captivated by an elderly woman with a charming voice, whose songs transported them to a completely different world.
- The singer always went on stage barefoot - someone said that this was a kind of tribute to the poverty in which Cesaria's fellow countrymen lived on the Cape Verde Islands. However, Evora herself insisted that there was no reason for this habit of hers - she simply did not like to wear shoes. “For so many years I walked barefoot, like most of us on the island, and it’s easier for me to sing barefoot,” she said in her interviews. She bought her first pair of shoes specifically for touring when she was already over 40.
- In the 80s, Cesaria Evora toured Europe, and a few years later she became famous throughout the world. She was nicknamed “the black Edith Piaf” and “the African Billie Holiday.” Cesaria asked for her first serious fee to be divided into 2 parts: she put half in the bank, and took the second in cash, so that if something happened, the money would definitely remain with her. True, when the journalist asked what she bought after her triumphant tour, she answered: “A skirt and 2 blouses.”
- Fame and wealth did not change Evora at all - she always ironed her dresses herself before concerts and said: “A luxury room, a good cook and strong espresso - that’s all I need.” And the singer was never able to quit the bad habit she acquired in her youth - smoking. During her performances, Cesaria always took small “smoke breaks.” “I love smoking and I can’t help it. One rich man offered me a new Mercedes if I would stop smoking. As you can see, I still smoke,” laughed the Barefoot Diva.
- In addition to tobacco, Cesaria had another little weakness - gold jewelry. She didn’t really like huge shopping centers, but during her tours she certainly went to small jewelry shops. According to her, all Cape Verdean women love gold because it is money that is always with you.
- Throughout her career, Cesaria earned more than $50 million, but she was never particularly interested in money. She lived in her parents' house with numerous relatives, and bought a new house only after everyone could no longer fit in the old one. The star never locked her doors, so every resident of the town could enter her house at any time and even treat herself to kashupa, a traditional Cape Verdian corn soup.
- Surprisingly, the indigenous woman of the Cape Verde Islands did not know how to swim and was very afraid of the waves. The fact is that as a child she saw how a storm washed a man off a cliff, and this memory haunted her all her life. Nevertheless, Evora could not live away from the ocean and said that she needed it to live.
- The diva donated almost all of her huge fees to the needs of Cape Verde. It financed primary and secondary school education, as well as most of the country's health care. At the same time, she herself assured that her help does not have a national scale, and she only helps individual people: “I can help a specific child, a specific mother who has a sick child. Many people are asking for help. Yes, for my country I am the most famous and wealthy, but what I do, I do exclusively as a private person.”
- In fact, of course, the star was being modest. She really helped a huge number of compatriots. Moreover, thanks to her, the whole world learned about the tiny republic scattered across the islands of the Atlantic Ocean. Cape Verde has become a member of the UN, WHO and many other significant international organizations.
Initially, the singer performed songs in the style of “morna” (port. morna), a genre traditional for the Cape Verde Islands, as well as “fado” (port. fado), African songs.
Cesaria Évora sings in Cape Verdean Creole, a dialect of Portuguese. The acoustic frame for the voice is provided by a piano, ukulele, accordion, violin and clarinet. Evora invariably goes on stage barefoot - this is a symbolic tribute to the poverty in which her fellow countrymen lived (and continue to live) on the Cape Verde Islands.
In early 1980 she began touring Europe. World fame came to Cesaria in 1988. She is also deservedly the owner of the honorary French award “Victoire de la Musique” and has been nominated for a Grammy 5 times. Cesaria Evora actively uses in her vocabulary such a wonderful word saudaji, which is translated as a bright feeling of longing for the Motherland.
Over the past 15 years, Cesaria Evora has received many music awards, several gold discs, and has toured the whole world, including Russia. She earned more than 50 million and donated most of her fees to the education of children of the Cape Verde Islands.
On February 6, 2008, Cesaria Evora was awarded the French Order of the Legion of Honor.
Despite her age, Cesaria sang with the same inspiration as 50 years ago. Hearing her voice, the listener freezes and is ready to endlessly enjoy her eternal, unusually colorful, beautiful and wise songs, like nature itself.
Cesaria Evora died on December 17, 2011 in Cape Verde at the age of 70.
Death was due to heart failure and respiratory problems.
"I know what it's like to live below the poverty line,
and I rejoice when my creativity can
help at least someone." (Cesaria Evora).
Life of Cesaria Evora in numbers:
- Cesaria Évora (port. Cesária Évora) was born on August 27, 1941 in Mindelo, Cape Verde.
- 1958 - the beginning of the singer's career.
- 1984 - recording of Cesaria's first solo album in Lisbon.
- 1988 - beginning of collaboration with the recording company Lusafrica, France.
- Albums: 1988 - La Diva Aux Pieds Nus, 1990 - Distino de Belita, 1991 - Mar Azul, 1992 - Miss Perfumado, 1994 - Sodade, 1995 - Cesária, 1997 - Cabo Verde, 1999 - Café Atlantico, 1999 - Mar Azul, 1999 - Cesaria Evora Remixes, 1999 - Best Of, 2001 - São Vicente di Longe, 2002 - In Bloom II, 2003 - Voz d'Amor, 2003 - All Gold Of The World, 2006 - Rogamar.
- Cesaria Evora is the owner of the French music award - “Victoire de la Musique”.
- She was nominated for a Grammy five times and won this award twice.
- The singer's first performance in Russia took place in April 2002 at the Anatoly Vasilyev Theater on Sretenka. The second concert took place in May of the same year at the Maly Theater.
- On February 6, 2008, Cesaria Evora was awarded the French Legion of Honor.
- Cesaria Evora died on December 17, 2011.
Cape Verde? This sunny tourist paradise is located on the Cape Verde Islands, which lie in the vast Atlantic Ocean, not far from the coast of Africa.
The uniqueness of the Cape Verdeans is due to the fusion of African and European blood; they have absorbed all the best that such a cocktail can provide, along the way absorbing the gold of the sun's rays and the lingering melodies of the sea.
I was born in such an amazing place Cesaria Evora
, in the sultry August of the sadly memorable year of 1941.
The girl grew up in the atmosphere of the resort port of Mindelo, where a whole series of numerous cafes lined the promenade, and the nights were as busy as the days. When the sun was setting and the coolness of the sea brought relief to the scorched streets, the air was filled with Her Majesty's music. In addition to the musical styles known to us, residents have always loved listening to ancient folklore - morna, fado and coladera. Songs with a slow motive, in which sadness, nostalgia, longing and, of course, love shine through.
As a true resident of her country, Cesaria loved these songs and performed them so soulfully that she quickly won the title of “Queen of Morna.” She started her career at the age of 17. And soon there was not a single club left in the town of Mindelo, not a single stage where the singer did not perform. Her singing was very memorable, her deep and strong voice reached the most hidden places in the souls of those listening, opened their hearts, made them worry - cry and love, yearn and be grateful.
This amazing woman sang, tried to build her personal happiness (she has three children from three marriages), and time passed. Youth is far behind you and, it would seem, you need to settle down - start a profitable business, raise children, quit drinking and smoking, limit access to your home to your many friends... But this is not all about our heroine. She remained true to herself in everything.
A young man named José da Silva was able to convince Evora to come to Paris for a short time to record his record. And the album was released in 1988 under the title “La Diva aux Pieds Nus” (The Barefoot Diva). The matter did not end there. In 1990, the album “Distino di Belita” (The Fate of a Beauty) was released and in 1991, “Mar Azul” (Azure Sea).
It would seem that who would listen to the vocals of an unknown aged singer, and in another language that is not understandable to everyone, except for people from Cape Verde and a few Portuguese... However, we can argue this way, but in reality this is what happened.
Loyalty to the tunes of her native country distinguished the singer from the mass of European pop stars; her voice - smooth and emotional, free and strong - captured hearts without a fight, the words did not need translation. After all, feelings are international, and a person’s craving for the pure, deep, natural always lives somewhere in every soul.
In 1992, the album “Miss Perfumado” (Fragrant Girl) triumphantly went across Europe, selling more than 200 thousand copies in France alone. All over the world, people began to listen to the morna in droves, just as they once danced the Lambada and Macarena en masse.
U Cesaria there was a rare talent - in her voice one can see “a feeling of bright longing for the homeland” - “saudaji”. This painful feeling is familiar to everyone - we can yearn for childhood, mother, something dear and painfully familiar, which cannot be returned.
AND Cesaria continued to amaze the audience. She went on stage barefoot as a sign of solidarity with poor African women, even in the halls of northern countries and Russia. Her stage outfits were purchased in ordinary stores, not boutiques. She did not participate in social life and politics, did not appear at fashionable parties, because after the tour she always returned home to Mindelo.
She had only two, and inexpensive, cars. And she lived in her parents' house - the house of her childhood.
The singer donated the lion's share of the millions of dollars she earned to the budget of Cape Verde. The entire primary education of the entire country was financed entirely from her fees! What palpable love for the Motherland! Imagine what was inherited with sweat and blood - and to others. Cesaria knew that her country was poor and needed her. When fate has given you so many opportunities and means, and you don’t need much for true happiness - just friends, a home, a job you love and a sense of need, it’s not difficult to share. The joy that your money will help other people learn and determine a better future for them more than covers all the sacrifices.
So that you can appreciate the scale of the transferred amounts, I will say, quoting the Izvestia newspaper, that “In percentage terms, Evora’s contributions to the budget of his native country are equal to the income that Russia receives from the sale of oil.” What's it like?
Like a true African, Cesaria loved collecting gold. Gold earrings, chains, and rings with warm drops of sunshine always complemented Evora’s outfit on stage. The best friends of girls, “diamonds,” as well as all other precious and semi-precious stones, remained unclaimed, like cold pieces of glass. Cesaria's opinion: “Gold is money that is always near you. And diamonds are lost money.”
The legendary singer died at the age of 70 in her homeland, three months after the official end of her creative career. In recent years, performing has become more and more difficult, but neither a stroke nor heart surgery forced Evora to give up what was the meaning of her life. She still went barefoot and gave listeners her magical songs.
Today the name of Cesaria Evora is known throughout the world. She was awarded the American Grammy, the French Vitoire de la Music, the Order of the Legion of Honor... And at home, grateful compatriots wanted to erect a monument to her during her lifetime. But Cesaria was against it, saying that it was better to give this money to the children.
What can you and I learn from the story of African Aunt Cize? You need to be true to yourself, your homeland, help others and do what you are interested in, what you do best. This is the whole recipe for success. Take note of it, and may happiness and love be with you!
The port bar is smoky and crowded. On stage, a barefoot dark-skinned girl sings about great love and separation. She believes that one day happiness will come to her, and does not know that in four decades she, still barefoot and believing in him, will be clapping in crowded halls around the world...
If it were not for Cesaria Evora, the former Cape Verde Islands (and today the Republic of Cape Verde) would have remained a line in history and geography textbooks. And only rare travelers who like to get away from civilization could talk about 18 islands in the Atlantic Ocean, not far from the west coast of Africa.
But, having appeared on stage, Cesaria was able to tell us, who had not seen those lands, about her native land, where the gentle sun, which had warmed the sand of endless beaches all day, rolls into the vast ocean, where the wind rustles among the branches, whispering to lovers about imminent separation, and where women sing, whose lovers have already left their native lands, hoping to find a better life. And songs about separation, about still-possible or already unrealizable happiness, melodies of light sadness, wrapped in timid hope and heart-tearing melancholy, float beyond the horizon - a thin line between the azure sky and the turquoise ocean. Maybe these sounds will overcome the surface of the water and fly to those loved ones who are now far away...
SEA TRUE
Cape Verdean women have been singing about this for a long time, because they knew well what separation was. Back in the 16th century, the Portuguese landed on the islands, turning them into their colony, and began taking slaves overseas. At the end of the 19th century, slavery was abolished in these lands, but this did not greatly improve the social status of the local residents. Rare rains did not allow farming, there were no rich mineral deposits, and power on the island still belonged to the Portuguese. More and more men dreamed of a better life and boarded ships to cross the ocean from foreign lands to send pennies that would help save their family from hunger. More and more women were left in poverty with many children, in the evenings peering at the horizon and pouring out longing for their loved ones in songs. Morns, as these musical laments are called, are one of the most widespread genres on the island.
Cesaria's mother also sang sadness to the wind more than once when there was only one cake left in the house for six children. Little Cesaria also recognized this sadness. First, when she lost her father at the age of seven, and then when her new family became the same grimy wretches in an orphanage - unable to feed the children on her own, her mother sent them to an orphanage.
The girl missed her real family, but tried not to lose hope that happiness would one day find her. “I was probably born with such a good mood,” she would say later. “I really loved to sing, and music helped me live with a smile.” No one taught her musical notation - however, ordinary music also remained incomprehensible to her: in Cape Verde during her childhood there was no time for schools. She will remain uneducated for the rest of her life, having learned only a few simple phrases to sign postcards to fans: “From Cesaria with love.”
AT THE AGE OF SEVEN, CAESARIA LOST HER FATHER, AND SHORTLY ENDED UP IN A CHILDREN'S ORPHANAGE
Much later, having become a world-famous singer, she will not leave her homeland completely, she will begin to help the families of the poor and the inhabitants of shelters, opening her heart to everyone who comes to her with their sadness. But this is still very far away, but for now Evora has her own little joys and troubles. To earn at least a little living, she goes to the port part of her native Mindelo, where there are taverns on the coast. By 1958, it was not an ideal place to live, but it was more successful than other cities. Ships from all over the world arrived at the port, and sailors who missed land came into the establishments to have a drink. Not everyone understood what the 17-year-old girl was singing about, because she only knew the local dialect - Cape Verdian Creole, a dialect of Portuguese. But ordinary guys listened to her with their hearts, because another lover will always understand a love story, no matter what language it is spoken in.
WHEN WORDS ARE NOT IMPORTANT
“MUSIC IS A UNIVERSAL MEANS OF COMMUNICATION. EVEN IF YOU DON'T KNOW THE LANGUAGE, YOU STILL LISTEN TO IT AND UNDERSTAND IT. PEOPLE SPEAK THE LANGUAGE OF RHYTHMS"
“Our repertoire mainly consists of two famous Cape Verdian styles: mornes and coladeras. The listener remembers more mornas - sad ballad songs about love, about how someone is sad in separation. There are also coladers - they have a critical, even satirical coloring. Perhaps someone did something not very beautiful or not very right, and we make a story out of it, turn it into a song. Almost every album has both mornes and coladeras.”
Cesaria has released 18 albums in 24 years. The first - Distino di belta - was recorded back in 1987, but did not receive wide popularity. The latest was the 2009 collection Nha Sentimento. And the 15th album, Voz de Amor, released in 2003, next brought the performer a Grammy Award.
And Cesaria sang with her soul - the first feeling just came to her, but the long-awaited happiness did not come. The handsome guitarist left the island, like many men, in search of a better life. And Evora knew how to speak from the stage on behalf of all women who love and wait, and this touched the soul of any listener. As well as the story of a difficult life in poverty - who, if not ordinary sailors, can understand what it means to have “not a penny to your name.”
But there she acquired a drinking habit that would remain with her until 1994. “Music for visitors was an accompaniment to intimate conversation accompanied by a glass of grog. They treated me, and I got involved. It seemed that alcohol saved me from difficult thoughts, she admitted. - For some time I could not go on stage without taking a sip of cognac. Fortunately, I managed to overcome this addiction and no longer drank anything stronger than water.”
SEE PARIS
But this, too, will happen later, but for now Cesaria remained in Mindelo, singing for visitors and drinking with them, listening to stories about distant countries. Her music began to appear on local radio, and her compatriots already knew her name. Twenty years passed like this, but she never stopped believing that one day happiness would come to her, real, complete, and she would have the opportunity to hear applause not only from bar visitors. “You will be surprised, but I expected that one day success would happen to me. I sang in Mindelo bars for many foreigners and saw that they liked my music. Then I thought that if one day I go abroad, others will also like what I do. And as you can see, she turned out to be right,” she will say many years later. And she will add that one day one of the sailors gave her a keychain in the shape of the Eiffel Tower. Then Evora told herself that one day she would definitely go to Paris and look at this tower with her own eyes.
BEST LATER
“CESARIA EVORA’S CHARM AND HER WARM VOICE STILL TOUCH US” – FRENCH NEWSPAPER LA VIE
- 1993 - the singer’s triumph in France. The first concerts at the country's main venue, Olympia, were sold out;
- In 1995, the released Cesaria disc became “gold” in France, and a best-seller in the USA (150 thousand copies);
- She performed tango for Kusturica's film "Underground", and unforgettably sang Besame Mucho for "Great Expectations".
But so far her dreams of fame, light and strong, like an ocean wave, almost scattered in splashes, hitting the rock of reality. In 1974, the Portuguese-ruled Cape Verde Islands finally dared to implement a long-cherished plan: to become independent. The regime was overthrown, an agreement on independence was signed, but this could not make the cherished dreams of a good life come true. The situation of the state that gained independence and was renamed the Republic of Cape Verde became even worse. Cesaria also felt this: much fewer ships moored at the port, and the inhabitants of the islands had no time for songs and fun in taverns. “My life has never been calm. Music helped me make a living. And when singing stopped bringing in money, I stopped singing,” she will say about that period. - These were the most difficult years. I'm glad they were left behind and I was able to go on stage again." This happened only after 10 years of her silence and happened thanks to friends. Life in Cape Verde began to improve, the musicians returned to creativity, every now and then asking Evora to do a favor and record a duet. One after another, these duets became the beginning of a new stage in her life.
Compatriots who were settling their lives in Lisbon more than once invited the singer there. There was a large Cape Verdian diaspora there, and the Portuguese were ready to help the people from the Islands. And finally she decides to go on a trip. Cesaria is 46 years old and is recording her first album. While her songs do not go beyond the diaspora, her compatriots who are homesick for home and the melodies of their homeland listen to her. But in one of the restaurants, Evora was noticed by a Frenchman with Cape Verdian roots, Jose da Silva. Struck by the color and beauty of the songs, he convinced Cesaria to go with him to France to achieve success there. The performer did not hesitate for long, remembering her long-standing dream of seeing the Eiffel Tower.
LITTLE SECRETS
Jose was not mistaken. In Paris, Evora recorded three more albums, and the third, Azur the Magician (1991), broke through the ethnic barrier and brought her the title of “aristocrat of restaurant music,” as the local press called Cesaria. France sees on stage a barefoot, middle-aged woman who, with her songs, transports listeners to a completely different world. “The morna style is woven from everything that surrounds us on the island: the sea, love and longing for something inexplicable,” she says about her music and her homeland.
They want to hear her in all corners of France, Cesaria goes on tour and every time she goes on stage silent and barefoot. She doesn't engage in dialogue with the public, doesn't put on a show, and doesn't put on shoes. This is how the first myths are born that Evora deliberately does not communicate with the audience, so that it would not be difficult for the audience to switch when she sings in an unfamiliar language. In reality, everything was more banal: since childhood, not taught to read and write, Cesaria was not given languages.
“WHEN SINGING STOPPED BRINGING MONEY, I STOP SINGING. THESE WERE THE HARDEST YEARS"
“And even later they came up with a myth that I perform barefoot, expressing solidarity with the poor people of my country. Nothing like that, I just don't like wearing shoes. For so many years I walked barefoot, like most of us on the island, and it’s easier for me to sing barefoot,” she will tell you. Open and honest, she captivated the audience with her sincerity. “I think it’s all because I sing with an open soul,” she will smile when the album Miss Perfumado, released next year, will bring her worldwide recognition.
The 50-year-old singer, nicknamed the Barefoot Diva, will go on concerts around the world, and soon there will be practically no corner where her mornas will not sound. She will be called the “black Edith Piaf” and the “African Billie Holiday,” but Cesaria’s attitude to life will remain as simple as before. “A luxury room, a good cook and strong espresso - that’s all I need,” she will tell you about her rider.
And also - an ironing board and iron in the room, because preparing the costume for a performance with one’s own hands will remain her constant tradition. Without hesitation, she will show reporters the burns on her hands. “I don’t avoid work,” she repeated. - Fame hasn't changed my life. Long before I became famous, I was surrounded by different people - rich and poor, close and strangers. I grew up poor, with nothing to my name, and now I continue to be true to who I was. Today’s success cannot change me.”
In fact, she has practically not changed, even retaining the bad habit she acquired in her youth - smoking. Even at concerts, Evora took a “minute of smoke break”, taking a savory drag just on stage, if circumstances permitted. “I love smoking and I can’t help it. An influential person once offered me an expensive Mercedes just for giving up cigarettes. As you can see, I still smoke,” she laughed.
And there was another small weakness that Cesaria allowed herself after becoming successful - gold jewelry. Traveling around the world, she avoided large shopping centers, frightened by their luxury, but always visited small jewelry stores. “Cape Verdean women, like all African women, love gold - and only that. This is money that you always have with you. But I don’t wear diamonds; here they are considered lost money, because they can’t be sold,” she explains.
YOU DON'T NEED MUCH
She did not buy mansions for herself in other countries; she invariably returned from tours to Cape Verde, continuing to live in the same house as her mother. “This place has forever remained the only refuge where I want to return,” she explained. And in the courtyard of this house they always kept food that any poor person in need of food could take. Just like going into her house and asking for help.
“They say a lot that I pay for the entire education system in Cape Verde, but this doesn’t correspond much to reality,” Evora refused the laurels. - What I spend on education has no national significance. I can help a specific child, a specific mother whose child is sick and needs medicine, a specific person whose house was destroyed by lightning. Many people are asking for help. Yes, for my country I am the most famous and wealthy, but what I do, I do exclusively as a private person. Oh, here's another thing. There is an association called “Cesaria”. It belongs to myself and my producer José da Silva. We systematically help talented children develop their musical talents. This is absolutely targeted support for the small talents of Cape Verde. I don’t know exactly how many such children there are, but certainly not thousands. About my support for education at the national level in the Republic is just a beautiful myth.”
However, these myths did not arise out of nowhere. Cesaria actually helped a huge number of Cape Verdians, and even the whole country - thanks to her, the whole world heard about the small state scattered across the Atlantic islands. The country has become a member of the UN, WHO and other international organizations, which gives residents real help; tourists from all over the world began to come, and this helps support Cape Verde’s budget. But not only did the world give something to her homeland, Cesaria herself gave much more to the world: the opportunity, listening to her songs, to dream about sunrises met on the ocean shore with your loved one, the hope with which you see him off, and the bright sadness with which you wait for his return .
She spoke little about her lovers, but always with touching embarrassment. “I have three children from different men, but I have never been married. Now I am surrounded by my loved ones - children, grandchildren, some of them stay with me, some visit me. But this is exactly what makes me happy, I don’t need more from life,” the elderly woman smiled. And she sang about those simple things that make everyone and us happy: “To be born in your laughter, / To be sad in your crying, / To live behind your shoulder / And to die in your arms.”
She passed away in December 2011, she was 70 years old. Shortly before this, she said: “Having lived to almost 70, I understand that all my dreams have come true and there are no new ones. I'm waiting for God to take me and I will say to everyone: “Goodbye!” These are normal thoughts at my age, because at the same time I know how to enjoy every day.”
And until her last day, Cesaria Evora lived in the old house, smoked cigarettes and received guests, greeting everyone with a smile. She comprehended the wisdom of life, which was that hope should be endless, love should be long-suffering, longing should be bright, sympathy should be sincere.
FACTS ABOUT CESARIA EVORA
“FOR ME ALL HALLS ARE THE SAME: SMALL OR HUGE. EVERYWHERE I SING WITH THE SAME FEELING"
- Born on August 27, 1941 in Mindelo (Saint Vincent Island, Republic of Cape Verde);
- Two-time winner of the highest French award, Victoire de la Musique, five times nominated for a Grammy;
- On February 6, 2009, Cesaria was awarded the French Legion of Honor;
- She died on December 17, 2011 at home in Cape Verde from cardiopulmonary failure and arterial hypertension.
The childhood and early years of Cesaria Evora
Cesaria Evora is a huge black diamond of a small impoverished country. The tiny nation of Cape Verde, located on the Cape Verde Islands off the western coast of Senegal, was a Portuguese colony until 1975. Here, in the family of a cook and a musician, the barefoot singer was born.My father, a kind and simple man, was destined to live too short. The girl was not even 7 years old when he died. There were, as they say, seven children in the family. In order to somehow ease her fate, her mother gave Cesar to a shelter.
Having matured and gotten a little stronger, the girl returned home and began to help her mother. She cleaned, washed, washed, cooked, sang and secretly glanced at photographs of her musician father. What feelings they awakened in her is unknown. However, at the age of 14, to the accompaniment of a ukulele in a port tavern, Cesara first sang about love.
Nature gifted the girl with a strong and unique voice, which was characterized by a special magical timbre. The listeners immediately fell in love with the young singer and always supported her with thunderous applause.
Mindelo, as befits a port town, was famous for its vibrant nightlife. The doors of bars and clubs were open to all regulars and visiting sailors. The music that sounded on the streets and on the beach enchanted with foxtrots and waltzes, sad lyrical songs and fiery African melodies.
Cesaria's chesty and velvety voice was most suitable for the styles popular at that time - morna and coladera. And the girl herself liked slow rhythmic melodies, telling about deep feelings, sadness and longing, love and separation.
The first songs of Cesaria Evora
At the age of 17, Cesaria already had her own group of musicians, with whom she performed in clubs, winning an increasing number of fans and earning a living for herself and her family.Her performances were bright and memorable, she knew how to touch the strings of the human soul in such a way that very soon she received universal popular recognition and love, and the highest award was the title of “Queen of Morna.”
In 1975, Portugal granted independence to Senegal, which was the reason for the final curtailment of trade in Cape Verde, which had already begun to fade away. Most of the musicians emigrated in different directions.
Cesaria Evora - Carnival
Cesaria remained. She continued to sing, measuring her native land with her bare feet and trying to somehow brighten up the lives of her fellow countrymen. By the way, the singer always walked barefoot and did not wear shoes to concerts. She only needed it to travel to countries with colder climates.
When asked about her barefoot image, Cesaria replied that in this way she showed solidarity with African women and children living below the poverty line. The then famous singer Bana and the Cape Verdean Women's Association repeatedly invited Cesaria to Lisbon to record.
The first to produce Evora was the famous singer, her fellow countryman Tito Paris. The debut of her solo album took place when the barefoot diva turned 43 years old.
Cesaria Evora - Besame Mucho
One day, the singing of the original star of the Cape Verdun blues (morna) was heard by the Frenchman José da Silva, a fellow countryman of Cesaria by origin. The young man was touched and amazed.
It took a lot of work to convince Cesaria to go to France. Finally, the singer gave in, and José da Silva took her to Paris to record a solo album. This was the beginning of the collaboration with Lusafrica.
In 1988, the world heard an album called Diva aux Pieds Nus. Next - work on Distino di Belita (1990), and in 1991 the song collection Mar Azul was released.
The world career of singer Cesaria Evora
In the early 80s, Cesaria went on a concert tour around Europe. in 1988 she received worldwide recognition and numerous fans. Women her age wanted to be like Cesaria and even went barefoot.The release of the fourth solo album "Miss Perfumado" (1992) created a real sensation in the world of morna, modigny, and fado. Singing Portuguese folk mixed with blues and jazz in a Creole dialect, Cesaria Evora has become a 52-year-old pop star. In France alone, the number of discs sold was 200,000 copies.
The singer was the winner of a Grammy, Victoire de la Musique, and the most prestigious award - the Order of the Legion of Honor, presented to her by the French Minister of Culture Christie Albanel. Cesara recorded 18 albums and toured Russia and Ukraine several times.
Cesaria Evora sang with her soul. Soft, deep and soulful. Only a person with a sensitive and vulnerable heart can sing like this. And she was like that. Romantic, with an elusive charm and deep, like the ocean on which she grew up and remained faithful to him all her life, the inner beauty of a woman’s soul. Her name is put on a par with the names of Claudia Shulzhenko, Edith Piaf, Madonna and Elvis Presley.
Personal life of Cesaria Evora
In her personal life, Cesaria did not find her happiness. First love, the black-eyed guitarist Eduardo, set sail from his native shore in search of new adventures, leaving the girl in disappointment and pain.Cesaria was sad for a long time. She poured out all her sadness and loneliness in songs. There were romances in the singer’s life, but Cesaria was not destined to meet a person who could constantly be nearby, both in trouble and in joy.
The greatest joy of her personal life was her three wonderful children, whom she, like her mother in her time, raised alone. World fame brought Cesaria more than 50 million dollars. She did not build fashionable mansions and buy villas in Miami. The singer spent all the money on maintaining primary education and the healthcare system of her country.
Grateful fellow countrymen wanted to erect a monument to Cesare during her lifetime, but she refused to spend money on perpetuating her person, ordering that it be given to her children.
Cesaria Evora died at exactly 70 years old, leaving behind not only unique songs and ballads. She left loyalty to her land, love and compassion for people.
Possessing only one language - Creole, and no special education, she proved that success comes when a person sincerely loves his work and always remains faithful to it.