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.
Carnaval de São Vicente
Cesária Évora Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Na sê ligria na sê sabura
Ma 'm ca pud fazê ideia
S'na carnaval era mas sab
São Vicente é um brasilin
Chei di ligria chei di cor
Ness três dia di loucura
Ness morabeza sen igual
Nô ten un fistinha mas sossegod
Ca bô exitá bô podê entrá
Coque e bafa ca ta faltá
Hôje é dia di carnaval
São Vicente é um brasilin
Chei di ligria chei di cor
Ness três dia di loucura
Ca ten guerra ê carnaval
Ca ten guerra ê carnaval
Ca ten guerra ê carnaval
Ca ten guerra ê carnaval
Ca ten guerra ê carnaval
Ca ten guerra ê carnaval
In "Carnaval de São Vicente," Cesária Évora sings passionately about the vibrant carnival of the island of São Vicente. She expresses her love for the island, its people, and especially the carnival, which she describes as a time of great joy and celebration. According to the song, São Vicente is a small island, yet full of happiness and color. She notes that while she cannot fully capture the essence of the carnival, she knows it to be a time of great revelry and excitement.
Throughout the song, Évora sings about the unique atmosphere of the carnival. She describes it as a time of "loucura" or madness, where people come together to celebrate life and let loose. She also mentions that this carnival is not like any other, with a constant state of "morabeza," a word in Cape Verdean Creole meaning hospitality or friendliness. She also speaks about the various traditional carnival elements like the "fistinha," a small drink consumed during carnival season.
Overall, through the lyrics of "Carnaval de São Vicente," Évora showcases her adoration for the island and its culture, particularly the beloved carnival which brings people together in the spirit of joy and unity.
Line by Line Meaning
J'a'm conchia São Vicente
I know São Vicente
Na sê ligria na sê sabura
In its joy and in its flavor
Ma 'm ca pud fazê ideia
But I can't imagine
S'na carnaval era mas sab
How much more lively it becomes during Carnival
São Vicente é um brasilin
São Vicente is like Brazil
Chei di ligria chei di cor
Full of joy, full of color
Ness três dia di loucura
In these three days of madness
Ca ten guerra ê carnaval
There's no war, it's just Carnival
Ness morabeza sen igual
In this unparalleled hospitality
Nô ten un fistinha mas sossegod
We have a small peaceful place
Ca bô exitá bô podê entrá
Don't stress, you can come in
Coque e bafa ca ta faltá
Snacks and drinks will not be missing
Hôje é dia di carnaval
Today is Carnival day
Ca ten guerra ê carnaval
There's no war, it's just Carnival
Ca ten guerra ê carnaval
There's no war, it's just Carnival
Ca ten guerra ê carnaval
There's no war, it's just Carnival
Ca ten guerra ê carnaval
There's no war, it's just Carnival
Ca ten guerra ê carnaval
There's no war, it's just Carnival
Contributed by Joshua F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@fernandinhocarvalho3627
Um abraço desse povo que te ama aqui do BRASIL 💜NOSSOS IRMÃOS DE CABO VERDE 💜
@ninazalesskaya3977
Восторг!!!!!!!! Сезария в наших сердцах...... Побольше бы таких певиц как Сезария и мир может быть стал добрее. Спасибо. Россия.
@Djangosfan
R.I.P. Cesaria! May heaven will be filled with the light and happiness of your voice and music!
@azazel603
Still coming back to this. Such amazing music. Good vibes , reminding me of my childhood. May she live forever through her music.
@borregone
In Portugal we love her like a true Portuguese woman... Faz parte de nós!! Muita saudade....
@TatianaShakhova
Любовь с первых звуков голоса. Спасибо на всю жизнь. И эта чудная песня и многие другие.
@afroditee31
In 2001, I heard her latest CD as it played in a Barnes and Noble. I bought it without hesitation and just about everything else by her since. I will miss her voice and rich melodies that transcend language and culture.
@user-fy5gl5us9u
Несравненная Сезария Эвора!!!! Слезы и благодарность!!! Вечная память! Это душа!
@russianbeauty2511
Сезария - явление в музыке
@julianmeikle9567
Cesaria Evora. It was sometime in 2002 that i first heard her sing. Needless to say i fell in love 💘.
Something about her voice that let me feel so at peace.
Frankly i dont speak Portuguese.
So i dont understand a word but i feel every emotion..
She is the best