Cesária Évora
August 27, 1941 – December 17, 2011
Known to fans as the “Barefoot Diva,” Cesária Évora, was a gifted singer from the island nation of Cape Verde which sits off the cost of Western Africa. Singing traditional Cape Verde songs in the native language of Portuguese since a young age, it wasn’t until Évora caught the ear of a French producer in 1988 that she was invited to Paris to cut a record. The result, La Diva Aux Pieds Nus, was released later that year to praise from adoring friends back home and new ones in Paris. Over the next several years, she built a sizable following in France and beyond, while critics compared her remarkable voice to that of Billie Holiday. By the mid ’90s, Évora had fans around the world and had been nominated for no fewer than three Grammys. She was awarded one for Best World Music Album for 2003’s Voz d’Amor. Évora continued to perform until suffering a heart attack in May of 2010. In September of 2011, it was announced that she was retired from singing due to poor health. On December 17, 2011, Cesária Évora died of what was reported as cardiorespiratory insufficiency and hypertension. She was 70.
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