Coming Soon Archives

August 2009: Cesaria Evora (Cape Verde)

This month Global Village features music from the ‘Barefoot Diva’ of Cape Verde, Cesaria Evora, in honor of her birthday this month. Though she started singing while still in her teens, Evora gave up music for a long time and even after returning to recording, she found little response to her first, rather modern attempts. Then, teamed up with a French producer who suggested she return to a more traditional style, Evora quickly found remarkable success, first in Europe and then in widening circles around the globe. Renowned for her elegant interpretation of mourna music, a beautifully ‘mournful’ style that is often referred to as Cape Verdean blues, Evora has toured the world, released a string of well-received albums (some with an impressive list of international guest musical stars) and influenced a new generation of singers to take up this traditional music. Throughout the month, Global Village features the music of Cesaria Evora, from those breakthrough recordings she made in the 1980s up to the present, along with some of the other artists who have come up from Cape Verde in her wake.