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 Manda Mantenha
Cesária Évora Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Traze boses
Um aroma daquel pais
Cabo Verde terra querida
Qu'nos tu quere na coracon
Cabo Verde manda mantenha
Se benson nun bes d'sodade
El d'zem pan fla boses
Ma se ragos tem quel calor
Pa tud ses fidje
Ku mesm' amor
The song Cabo Verde Manda Mantenha by Cesária Évora is a beautiful tribute to the singer's homeland, Cape Verde. The lyrics convey a sense of longing and nostalgia for the island nation, which is described as a cherished land that is held close to the hearts of its people. The opening lines, "Tcham canta, m'bem / Traze boses / Um aroma daquel pais" suggest that the singer has returned to Cape Verde and is bringing with her the sounds and scents that are associated with the place. This sense of bringing a part of Cape Verde with her is reinforced by the use of the word "aroma," which suggests something that is both tangible and intangible.
The chorus, "Cabo Verde manda mantenha / Se benson nun bes d'sodade / Pa tud ses fidj' na terra longe / El d'zem pan fla boses / Ma se ragos tem quel calor / Pa tud ses fidje / Ku mesm' amor," embodies the central theme of the song, which is that Cape Verdeans who live far away from their homeland should always remember and cherish their connection to it. The phrase "Cabo Verde manda mantenha" can be translated as "Cape Verde sends reminders," and it suggests that even though the physical distance might be great, the connection between the people and their homeland is strong and enduring. The repetition of "Pa tud ses fidj' na terra longe" emphasizes the importance of this connection to Cape Verdeans who live away from home.
Overall, Cabo Verde Manda Mantenha is a gorgeous song that not only celebrates Cape Verde, but also speaks to the universal human experience of feeling homesick and longing for the places we love.
Line by Line Meaning
Tcham canta, m'bem
As Tcham sings, I come closer
Traze boses
Bringing voices
Um aroma daquel pais
An aroma from that country
Cabo Verde terra querida
Beloved land of Cabo Verde
Qu'nos tu quere na coracon
That we hold dear in our hearts
Cabo Verde manda mantenha
Cabo Verde sends its keepers
Se benson nun bes d'sodade
If you don't feel homesick
Pa tud ses fidj' na terra longe
For all its children far away
El d'zem pan fla boses
They ask for bread to speak up
Ma se ragos tem quel calor
But if the rains have that heat
Pa tud ses fidje
For all its children
Ku mesm' amor
With the same love
Contributed by Isaiah K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.