Born on the 27th August 1941 in the port town of Mindelo, Cape Verde, on the island of São Vicente. Long known as the queen of the morna, a soulful genre (related to the Portuguese fado) sung in Creole-Portuguese, she mixed her sentimental folk tunes filled with longing and sadness with the acoustic sounds of guitar, cavaquinho, violin, accordion, and clarinet. Évora's Cape Verdean blues often spoke of the country's history of isolation and slave trade, as well as emigration; almost two-thirds of the million Cape Verdeans alive live abroad.
Évora's voice, a finely-tuned, melancholy instrument with a touch of hoarseness, highlighted her emotional phrasing by accenting a word or phrase. Even audiences who do not understand her language could be held spell-bound by the emotions evident in her performances.
In 2004 she won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album.
A heavy smoker for decades, Évora was diagnosed with heart problems in 2005. She suffered strokes in 2008 and in September 2011, when she announced she was retiring. She died at the age of seventy in São Vicente, Cape Verde on the 17th December 2011 from respiratory failure and hypertension. A Spanish newspaper reported that forty-eight hours before her death she was still receiving people in her home in Mindelo, popular for always having its doors open.
Cabo Verde terra estimada
Cesária Évora Lyrics
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Terra di paz terra di gozo
Tudo quem djobe'l pa se regoce
El ca ta ba el qu're fica
Ma s'el mandado el ta tchora
Oi Cabo Verde terra estimada
Terra di paz terra di gozo
El ca ta ba el qu're fica
Ma s'el mandado el ta tchora
Es dez graozinho di terra
Qui Deus espaia na meio di mar
El e di nos e ca tomado na guerra
E Cabo Verde terra querida
Es dez graozinho di terra
Qui Deus espaia na meio di mar
El e di nos e ca tomado na guerra
E Cabo Verde terra querida
Oi Cabo Verde terra estimada
Terra di paz terra di gozo
Tudo quem djobe'l pa se regoce
El ca ta ba el qu're fica
Ma s'el mandado el ta tchora
Oi Cabo Verde terra estimada
Terra di paz terra di gozo
Tudo quem djobe'l pa se regoce
El ca ta ba el qu're fica
Ma s'el mandado el ta tchora
Tchora sodade daques morena
Qu'el ta leva na pensamento
Tchora recordaçao eterna
Di tempo ca tinha sofrimento
Tchora sodade daques morena
Qu'el ta leva na pensamento
Tchora recordaçao eterna
Di tempo ca tinha sofrimento
Oi Cabo Verde terra estimada
Terra di paz terra di gozo
Tudo quem djobe'l pa se regoce
El ca ta ba el qu're fica
Ma s'el mandado el ta tchora
Oi Cabo Verde terra estimada
Terra di paz terra di gozo
Tudo quem djobe'l pa se regoce
El ca ta ba el qu're fica
Ma s'el mandado el ta tchora
The lyrics of Cesária Évora's song "Cabo Verde Terra Estimada" (Beloved Cape Verde) are a tribute to the beauty and resilience of the West African archipelago. The song opens with the repetition of the phrase "Oi Cabo Verde terra estimada" (Oh beloved Cape Verde), which underscores the singer's deep affection for her homeland. She goes on to describe Cape Verde as a land of peace and joy, where all who come to witness its beauty can rejoice in it. Despite this, the singer notes that no matter how much she may want to stay in her beloved land, if she were called away by duty, she would be overcome with sorrow.
The lyrics continue by paying homage to the ten small islands that make up Cape Verde, which were said to be scattered by God in the midst of the sea. The singer highlights the fact that despite the country's small size, they had never been taken in war and remained a beloved and free country. The second half of "Cabo Verde Terra Estimada" is a poignant reflection on the concept of saudade, a Portuguese term that conveys a deep sense of longing, nostalgia, and melancholy. The singer laments the loss of a loved one, recognizing that their memory will forever be with her, even when she is far from home.
Line by Line Meaning
Oi Cabo Verde terra estimada
Hello dear Cabo Verde land
Terra di paz terra di gozo
Land of peace and joy
Tudo quem djobe'l pa se regoce
Everyone who sees it rejoices
El ca ta ba el qu're fica
He won't leave it, he wants to stay
Ma s'el mandado el ta tchora
But if he is sent away he will cry
Es dez graozinho di terra
These ten grains of land
Qui Deus espaia na meio di mar
That God spread in the middle of the sea
El e di nos e ca tomado na guerra
It belongs to us and was not taken in war
E Cabo Verde terra querida
And Cabo Verde is a beloved land
Tchora sodade daques morena
Cry, longing for those brunettes
Qu'el ta leva na pensamento
That he carries in his thoughts
Tchora recordaçao eterna
Cry, eternal memory
Di tempo ca tinha sofrimento
Of times of suffering
Contributed by Ella L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@mendoncaangelo
❤❤❤❤❤❤
@antoninocaputo4864
Immortale ❤
@leogomez9014
Cuba nos dió a Celia, Cabo Verde a Cesaria.
@JoaoMiguel-zk7hb
Eterna rainha
@arxegalego31
Cabo Verde, Encruzilhada do Atlântico, uma ponte entre América, África e Europa
@liubava4743
Солнечная, незабываемая Босоножка!
@arxegalego31
Interpretação ímpar desta música tão bela e triste ao mesmo tempo!
@johndavison2374
Que coração, que música linda, que beleza!
@sunrara7133
Che Sun Ra la illumini!!!
@Lily-zk9bh
Bravissima 😍💋💃,poi ha lo stesso mio cognome😅👏🇮🇪