Cesária

Cesária Évora (27 December 1941 – 17 December 2011), commonly known simply as Cesária, was a Cape Verdean singer and one of the most celebrated interpreters of morna, a melancholic Cape Verdean music genre infused with saudade. Born in Mindelo on the island of São Vicente, she spent much of her early life singing in nightclubs before achieving international fame in the 1990s. She became known worldwide as the Barefoot Diva for performing without shoes on stage.

Her breakthrough came with the 1995 album Miss Perfumado, which introduced morna to global audiences and established her as a leading voice of Cape Verdean music. She released numerous albums over the next two decades, including Voz d'Amor (2003/2004), which won the Grammy Award for Best World Music Album in 2004. Her repertoire encompasses morna, coladeira, and other traditional styles, often sung in Portuguese and Cape Verdean Creole, and sometimes in other languages.

Évora toured extensively, collaborating with musicians from around the world and contributing to the international profile of Lusophone music. Her voice—warm, grave, and emotionally restrained—was praised for conveying longing and resilience and for carrying the history and landscape of Cape Verde.

She died in Mindelo in 2011 after years of health problems. Her legacy endures in the continued popularity of morna and in a generation of Cape Verdean artists inspired by her international success.