The five best songs of cesaria evora. Cesaria Evora
Cesaria Evora (port. Cesária Évora; nicknamed the "barefoot diva"; August 27, 1941, Mindelo - December 17, 2011, Sao Vicente) is a singer from the Cape Verde Islands, a performer of morna, fado and modinha. She sang in Cape Verdian Creole. The acoustic framing of the voice was the piano, ukulele, accordion, violins and clarinet. Cesaria Evora is a two-time winner of the French music award - "Victoire de la Musique" (in 2000 for the album Café Atlantico and in 2004 for the album Voz d'Amor). She was nominated five times for a Grammy and won this award once (for the album "Voz d'Amor" in 2004). February 6, 2009 Cesaria Evora was awarded the French Legion of Honor. Évora invariably appeared barefoot on stage, a symbolic tribute to the poverty in which her fellow countrymen lived (and nearly half continue to live) in the Cape Verde Islands. The singer walked barefoot in life, for many years. She wore only sandals while traveling in temperate countries.
Since 1958, that is, from the age of 17, Cesaria Evora has worked in the music bars of Mindelo. Initially, she 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 and coladera. The singer recorded her first solo album at the age of forty-three in Lisbon. Evora's first producer was another famous singer- Cape Verdian Tito Paris. There in Lisbon at the Enclave restaurant (where the club of Lisbon Cape Verdians met), José da Silva, a Frenchman with Cape Verdian roots, heard her and was subdued by her voice so much that he devoted three years to making her famous. He brought the 47-year-old singer to France. From that moment began her collaboration with Lusafrica. In the early 1980s, Cesaria Evora began touring Europe. And already in 1988 she became famous all over the world. The singer received special recognition after the release of her fourth album "Miss Perfumadu" in 1992. The first performance of the singer in Russia took place in April 2002 at the Anatoly Vasiliev Theater on Sretenka. This concert was closed to the general public and the visit was not officially announced. The second concert was held in May of the same year at the Maly Theater. In subsequent years, the singer repeatedly performed in Russia with concerts in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don, Barnaul, Yekaterinburg, Perm, Tver, Arkhangelsk, Ufa, Tyumen, Yaroslavl, Samara, Irkutsk, Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Tomsk, Vladivostok, Khabarovsk and Kazan. In May 2010, due to heart problems, the singer had to cancel all her concert performances for the rest of the year. In September 2011, she announced the completion singing career. On December 17, 2011, Cesaria Evora died in Cape Verde at the age of 70. The causes of death were cardiopulmonary failure and arterial hypertension.
Childhood and early years of Cesaria Evora
Cesaria Evora is a huge black diamond of a small impoverished country. The tiny state of Cape Verde, located on the Cape Verde Islands closer to the western coast of Senegal, was a colony of Portugal until 1975. Here, in the family of a cook and a musician, a barefoot singer was born.Father, kind and simple man was destined too short life. The girl was not even 7 years old when he died. There were, as they say, seven children in the family in the shops. In order to somehow alleviate her plight, her mother sent Cesar to an orphanage.
Having matured and a little stronger, the girl returned home and began to help her mother. She cleaned, washed, washed, cooked, sang, and furtively glanced at photographs of her father, a musician. What feelings they aroused in her is unknown. However, at the age of 14, to the accompaniment of a ukulele in a port tavern, Cesar sang about love for the first time.
Nature endowed the girl with a strong and unique voice that had a special magical timbre. The audience 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 in the streets and on the beach enchanted with foxtrots and waltzes, sad lyrical songs and incendiary African melodies.
Cesaria's chesty and velvety voice was most suitable for the styles popular at that time - morna and coladera. Yes, and the girl herself liked the 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, gaining 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 human soul so that very soon she received universal popular recognition and love, and herself high award was the title of "Queen of the Morna".
In 1975, Portugal granted independence to Senegal, which caused the final curtailment of trade in Cape Verde, which had already begun to fade before that. Most of the musicians emigrated in different directions.
Cesaria Evora - Carnival
Cesaria remained. She continued to sing, measuring native land bare feet and trying to somehow brighten up the life of fellow countrymen. By the way, the singer always went barefoot, did not wear shoes to concerts either. She only needed it to travel to countries with a colder climate.
When asked about her barefoot image, Cesaria replied that in this way she shows solidarity with African women and children living below the poverty line. The then-famous singer Bana and the Women's Association of Cape Verde repeatedly invited Cesaria to Lisbon to record.
The first to produce Evora began famous singer, her countryman Tito Paris. Debut solo album took place when the barefoot diva turned 43 years old.
Cesaria Evora
Once, the singing of the original star of the Cape Verdun blues (morne) was heard by the Frenchman Jose da Silva, a 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 up, 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. Further - work on Distino di Belita (1990), and in 1991 the song collection Mar Azul was released.
The world career of the singer Cesaria Evora
In the early 80s, Cesaria went on a tour of Europe with concerts. in 1988 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 Perfumadu" (1992) made a splash in the world of morna, modinha, fado. Performing Portuguese folk intertwined with blues and jazz in a Creole dialect, Cesaria Evora became a 52-year-old pop star. In France alone, the number of discs sold was 200,000 copies.
The singer was the owner of the Grammy, Victoire de la Musique, as well as the most prestigious award - the Order of the Legion of Honor, presented to her by French Minister of Culture Christie Albanel. Cesar has recorded 18 albums, has repeatedly been on tour in Russia and Ukraine.
Cesaria Evora sang with her soul. Soft, deep and penetrating. Only a person with a sensual and vulnerable heart can sing like that. 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, inner beauty female soul. Her name is put on a par with the names of Claudia Shulzhenko, Edith Piaf, Madonna and Elvis Presley.
Cesaria Evora's personal life
In her personal life, Cesaria did not find her happiness. First love - black-eyed guitarist Eduardo, set sail from his native shore in search of new adventures, leaving the girl in disappointment and pain.Cesaria longed for a long time. She poured out all the sadness and loneliness in songs. There were novels in the life of the singer, but a person who could be constantly nearby, both in trouble and in joy, Cesaria was not destined to meet.
The greatest joy of her personal life was three wonderful children whom she, like her mother at one time, raised alone. World fame brought Cesaria more than $ 50 million. She did not build luxurious mansions and buy villas in Miami. The singer spent all the money on maintenance primary education and the health care system of their country.
Grateful fellow countrymen wanted to erect a monument to Cesar during her lifetime, but she refused to spend money on perpetuating her person, ordering to give it to her children.
Cesaria Evora died exactly at the age of 70, leaving behind not only unique songs and ballads. She left loyalty to her land, love and compassion for people.
Possessing only one language - Creole, having no special education, she proved that success comes when a person sincerely loves his job and remains faithful to him always.
Cesaria Evora is a huge black diamond in a small impoverished country. The tiny state of Cape Verde, located on the Cape Verde Islands closer to the western coast of Senegal, was a colony of Portugal until 1975. Here, in the family of a cook and a musician, a barefoot singer was born.Father, a kind and simple man, was destined to have a too short life. The girl was not even 7 years old when he died. There were, as they say, seven children in the family in the shops. In order to somehow alleviate her plight, her mother sent Cesar to an orphanage.
Having matured and a little stronger, the girl returned home and began to help her mother. She cleaned, washed, washed, cooked, sang, and furtively glanced at photographs of her father, a musician. What feelings they aroused in her is unknown. However, at the age of 14, to the accompaniment of a ukulele in a port tavern, Cesar sang about love for the first time.
Nature endowed the girl with a strong and unique voice that had a special magical timbre. The audience 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 incendiary African melodies.Cesaria's chesty and velvety voice was most suitable for the styles popular at that time - morna and coladera. Yes, and the girl herself liked the 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, gaining 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 recognition and love from the people, and the title of "Queen of the Morna" was the highest award.
In 1975, Portugal granted independence to Senegal, which caused the final curtailment of trade in Cape Verde, which had already begun to fade before that. Most of the musicians emigrated in different directions.
When asked about her barefoot image, Cesaria replied that in this way she shows solidarity with African women and children living below the poverty line. The then-famous singer Bana and the Women's Association of Cape Verde repeatedly invited Cesaria to Lisbon to record.
The first to produce Evora was the famous singer, her countryman Tito Paris. The debut of the solo album took place when the barefoot diva turned 43 years old.
It took a lot of work to convince Cesaria to France. Finally, the singer gave up, 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. Further - work on Distino di Belita (1990), and in 1991 the song collection Mar Azul was released.
The world career of the singer Cesaria Evora
In the early 80s, Cesaria went on a tour of Europe with concerts. in 1988 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 Perfumadu" (1992) made a splash in the world of morna, modinha, fado. Performing Portuguese folk intertwined with blues and jazz in a Creole dialect, Cesaria Evora became a 52-year-old pop star. In France alone, the number of discs sold was 200,000 copies.
The singer was the owner of the Grammy, Victoire de la Musique, as well as the most prestigious award - the Order of the Legion of Honor, presented to her by French Minister of Culture Christie Albanel. Cesar has recorded 18 albums, has repeatedly been on tour in Russia and Ukraine.
Cesaria Evora's personal life
In her personal life, Cesaria did not find her happiness. First love - black-eyed guitarist Eduardo, set sail from his native shore in search of new adventures, leaving the girl in disappointment and pain.Cesaria longed for a long time. She poured out all the sadness and loneliness in songs. There were novels in the life of the singer, but a person who could be constantly nearby, both in trouble and in joy, Cesaria was not destined to meet.
The greatest joy of her personal life was three wonderful children whom she, like her mother at one time, raised alone.
Interesting facts about Cesaria of Evora
World fame brought Cesaria more than $ 50 million. She did not build luxurious mansions and buy villas in Miami. The singer spent all the money on the maintenance of primary education and the healthcare system of her country.Grateful fellow countrymen wanted to erect a monument to Cesar during her lifetime, but she refused to spend money on perpetuating her person, ordering to give it to her children.
Cesaria Evora died exactly at the age of 70, leaving behind not only unique songs and ballads. She left loyalty to her land, love and compassion for people.
Possessing only one language - Creole, having no special education, she proved that success comes when a person sincerely loves his job and always remains faithful to him.
Cesaria Evora entered musical history barefoot and took her place in it as famous singer and composer. The peak of popularity for Cesaria came at the age of 52. The marvelous timbre of the strong and emotional voice of the barefoot prima does not leave anyone indifferent. Anyone who hears how Cesaria Evora sings his peculiar “saudaji” is immediately imbued with a story that sounds in an unfamiliar language. The melody of the song flows from the lips of the performer so penetratingly that it does not need to be translated - the soul understands and feels everything without unnecessary prompting.
The history of the barefoot diva
In 1941, at the end of August, on the island of Sao Vicente, in the city of Mindelo, Cesaria Evora was born into a large poor family. The biography of the future pop star is centered around her native island, which she has not left all her life. The father of the family died early, leaving seven children in the care of his mother.
Cesaria from the age of 14 begins to perform on the stages of her native port town. Following the musical fashion of that time, she performs coladera, African songs and morna - nostalgic motifs about love, sadness, separation, life. The magical timbre of the singer had a bewitching effect on the listeners.
At the age of 17, the performer of slow and rhythmic Cape Verdian songs has already formed her own composition of musicians. So Cesaria with his band long time and performs, moving from club to club, giving concerts and earning a living from this. ebony bright girl with a memorable texture, she touched with her marvelous voice the thin strings of the souls of the listeners. She quickly won the recognition and love of her people, earning the title of "Queen of the Morna".
In 1975, after the change in the political status of Senegal, Cesaria did not seek to emigrate, but remained in hometown. Continuing to work in her usual role, the singer tried her luck several times by recording in Lisbon. But she was destined to become famous only in the 80s, after meeting the young Frenchman Jose Da Silva, who was amazed and captivated by the performance of Cesaria. Agreeing to his persuasion to go to Paris and record a record, the singer radically changes her lifestyle.
ebony cinderella
After the first album, released in 1988, Cesaria releases a new one almost every year. In 1992, after recording the disc Miss Perfumado, the 52-year-old performer becomes a pop star. Performing barefoot to the accompaniment of violin, clarinet, piano, accordion and ukulele, she becomes very famous throughout Europe. The world, satiated with tabloid romances and chanson, was carried away by the Portuguese blues according to Cape Verdi - jazz in a kind of Creole dialect.
Peak of popularity
In 1995, the released album Cesaria was nominated for a Grammy Award and recognized by a large number of central American publications. best album of the year". Musical compositions from this collection for a long time occupied the highest positions of the charts. Cesaria is recognized throughout Europe, Russia, Ukraine, and especially in France. Its popularity was huge at the time and remains the same now. The songs performed by her, like herself, went down in history forever and demonstrated how talent wins over rock. The music she sings is all Cesaria Evora. "Besame Mucho" in her performance sounds romantic, heartfelt, deep, with an inner charm and beauty inherent only in this black woman.
Strong personality
Personal happiness in love with Cesaria did not work out. It was not possible to create a family with a loving and understanding person who could support her in trouble and joy, but she left three wonderful children from the search for a soul mate. She raised them herself. The sadness, longing and loneliness of this woman are subtly felt in her songs. She devotes all her love to children, music, her people, her homeland.
Having become famous, Cesaria is no longer in dire need of a livelihood. The fame of the pop star has brought good income, which she does not spend much on herself. Having bought myself Father's house and a few cheap cars, she gives almost all the millions she earns to the development of health care and education systems in her country. Understanding how her compatriots live, she helps them, always remembers where she comes from, and remains true to her principles.
The contribution of the singer to musical culture
The lifestyle of the people of the Cape Verde archipelago left its mark on the work of Cesaria Evora. Most of the Cape Verdian people to this day live below the poverty line, as she herself once did. This explains her constant performance on stage barefoot. This is a tribute to the people and their poverty, it is part of their culture. So she lived, without changing her principles and views, Cesaria Evora. Her biography demonstrates how she has always strived to bring to the masses a special Portuguese word - “saudaji”. Performing on big and famous concert venues songs in a strange Creole dialect, she was able to tell the whole world the story of her people, show her personal spiritual beauty with a mixture of lyrics and patriotism.
Her songs are like a light sea breeze on a quiet evening coast at sunset: on the one hand, simple human happiness, and on the other, infinitely bright sadness. She sings songs of paradise, where a person has returned, knowing that at any second he can lose him ... African Edith Piaf, a 62-year-old grandmother from the Cape Verde Islands, sang all her life in smoky port bars. And started my professional career only at the age of 47. Income from the concert activities of Evora formed almost half of the treasury of her homeland - Cape Verde. Her manner of performing the morna of drawn-out and melodic romantic ballads in Creole drove the world's music connoisseurs crazy.
Evora was born on August 27, 1941 in the port city of Mindelo (Cape Verde) in the family of a musician. From the age of 17, Cesaria began performing in the bars of Mindelo, performing mainly the works of the poet and composer B. Lez, whose mornas have become classics of the archipelago. In 1975, after a long struggle for independence from Portugal, a coup takes place in the archipelago and a pro-Marxist regime is established. The country is in a difficult economic situation. Cesaria can no longer make a living by singing. Unrecognized, she falls silent for ten for long years. She finds solace in cognac and cigars. In 1985, Cesaria gives in to the requests of his friends and participates in the recording of a collective album. the best performers Morne from Cape Verde. In 1986, her first solo album was recorded in Lisbon. It is followed by many concerts in different countries in the diaspora of Cape Verde. A momentous meeting soon followed with José Da Silva, Cesaria's compatriot living in France. fan musical culture of his people, José works as a lineman at night and devotes his days to music. It is he who takes her career into his own hands, as a result of which her first french album"Barefoot Diva". This album begins her collaboration with Lusafrica, which continues to this day.
In 1990, Cesaria's second album, The Fate of a Beauty, was released. This album doesn't make much noise, but Cesaria's fame is rising among the Cape Verdean diaspora. In 1991, Cesaria will be successful at the Angouleme festival. She was noticed by the French press. And, although her performance in Paris on June 2, 1991 gathers only compatriots, Liberation writes about her in enthusiastic terms. Cesaria celebrates its fiftieth anniversary with the release of a new album, which Le Monde rave about. The CD plays on the radio solo concert December 14 is completely sold out, this time its audience consists almost exclusively of Europeans. In 1992, the album "Miss Perfumado" was recorded, for which Cesaria received the Golden Disc, becoming the second African woman after Miriam Makeba to achieve such success.
1993 is the year of Cesaria's triumph in France. The press choke with delight and savor the details of her life, her exorbitant passion for smoking and cognac, her difficult life in Mindelo at the end of the world, calling her the African Billie Holiday. This year, the first concerts are held in Olympia, all of Paris is at her feet. This whole year is on tour: Portugal, Canada, Spain, Japan ...
In 1994, the discovery of Brazil and the meeting of Cesaria with the Brazilian Caetano Veloso, who had a great influence on her work. Again, countless tours around the world ... And in almost every country best singers ask her to sing with them. Cesaria is always willing to experiment: her partners are Rita Mitsuko, Catherine Ringer, Cayetano Veloso and others. In the same year, the collection "The Most Beautiful Morns of Cesaria" was published. This year is significant in that Cesaria conquers her passion for cognac, a companion of her ten-year depression. In 1995 - the American tour of Cesaria. Her album "Cesaria", which has already received a Golden Disc in France, becomes a hit in the USA (150 thousand copies sold). Her concerts are taken by storm. The American show elite breaks into her concert. In the same year she recorded the Ausencia tango for Emir Kusturica's film "Underground". Cesaria tours a lot. In 1997 comes out new album"Cape Verde", countless tours, including the USA, where this disc was nominated for a Grammy-Awards. In 1998 new compilation"The Best of Cesaria Evora", which includes all the best of her songs, as well as Besame mucho on Spanish, previously recorded for the film Great Expectations. She sang, it would seem, already completely overplayed hit - and sang as if before the author of this song, the Mexican Consuelo Velasquez, no one had put the words “kiss me tighter” to music. And again, Cesaria travels around the world with concerts.
In 1999, her new album "Atlantico Cafe" was released, first in France, then replicated around the world. The birthplace of Cesaria, the port of Mindelo and the islands of San Vincente became the main themes of the album. Café Atlantico, the collective name for the countless bars in Mindelo where Cesaria once sang, sells over 600,000 copies. This CD brings her Victoire dela musique - the highest recognition musical success in France.
In 2001, Cesaria's album "San Vincente from afar" appears - the quintessence creative way Cesaria, in which she is established not only as a professional of the highest standard, but also as a force that can unite around herself best musicians and performers. In July 2002, the double album "Anthology" was released. Now in Paris, at her headquarters, work is underway on the next album. Grandmother Cesaria, who lost her three husbands, is tired of touring (age and illness make you aware) and is going to spend more time in the studios, recording discs. In Mindelo, as in most port cities, nightlife was in full swing, music was playing everywhere - in clubs, on the streets, on the beach. All styles were in vogue: ballads, waltzes, foxtrots, controversy. However, the most popular were considered morna and coladera - slow and rhythmic songs expressing nostalgia, love, sadness and longing.
With a strong and emotional voice most suited to these styles, Cesarea quickly found her niche in musical life Mindelo and thanks to regular and memorable performances soon won the title of "Queen of the Morna". With musicians loyal to her, she moved from club to club, giving concerts and earning a living from the bounty of her fans. However, in the late 1950s, the port began to decline, and when Senegal gained independence from Portugal in 1975, trade in Cape Verde quickly curtailed, and most of the musicians emigrated to other parts of the world. Caesarea Evora decided to stay at home.
