Cesária Évora

About Cesária Évora

Cesária Évora was the Barefoot Diva, the voice that carried Cape Verde to the world. Singing morna and coladeira in Kriolu, she performed shoeless in solidarity with the poor of her native Mindelo. International fame came late, in her fifties, but her 1992 album Miss Perfumado and its song Sodade made her one of the most recognizable voices in world music. She won a Grammy in 2004, and her death in 2011 prompted national mourning across Cape Verde.