Cesária Évora (1941-2011) was a morna singa from Cape Verde. She was known… Read Full Bio ↴Cesária Évora (1941-2011) was a morna singa from Cape Verde. She was known as the "barefoot diva" because of her propensity to appear on stage in her bare feet in support of the homeless and poor women and children of her country.

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.

Cretcheu di ceu
Cesária Évora Lyrics

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Sol disponta di manhazinha
Êl bem ilumina és bô carinha
Carinha di santa, santa sem altar
Bôs fonte de luz, dos fonte na bô olhar!

Sol disponta di manhazinha
Êl bem ilumina és bô carinha
Carinha di santa, santa sem altar

Bôs fonte de luz, dos fonte na bô olhar!

Ca bô s'pia pa ceu, pal ca tchomabo se cretcheu
Ca bô s'pia pa mar, pal ka inveja bô olhar
Ceu tem estrela, sim c'ma mar tem area
A mim djal contam, c'ma bô ê se sereia!

Ca bô s'pia pa ceu, pal ca tchomabo se cretcheu
Ca bô s'pia pa mar, pal ka inveja bô olhar
Ceu tem estrela, sim c'ma mar tem area
A mim djal contam, c'ma bô ê se sereia!

Bô bem p'esse mundo, bô tem de ba pa ceu
Destino ê certo, ser se cretcheu
Esse mundo ê falso, ele cheio d'ilusao
Ka bô fala sim, ka bô entregal bô coração!

Bô bem p'esse mundo, bô tem de ba pa ceu
Destino ê certo, ser se cretcheu
Esse mundo ê falso, ele cheio d'ilusao
Ka bô fala sim, ka bô entregal bô coração!

Ceu tem estrela, sim c'ma mar tem area
A mim djal contam, c'ma bô ê se sereia!

Ca bô s'pia pa ceu, pal ca tchomabo se cretcheu
Ca bô s'pia pa mar, pal ka inveja bô olhar
Ceu tem estrela, sim c'ma mar tem area
A mim djal contam, c'ma bô ê se sereia!

Ca bô s'pia pa ceu, pal ca tchomabo se cretcheu
Ca bô s'pia pa mar, pal ka inveja bô olhar
Ceu tem estrela, sim c'ma mar tem area
A mim djal contam, c'ma bô ê se sereia!

Ca bô s'pia pa ceu, pal ca tchomabo se cretcheu
Ca bô s'pia pa mar, pal ka inveja bô olhar

Ceu tem estrela, sim c'ma mar tem area
A mim djal contam, c'ma bô ê se sereia!

Overall Meaning

The song Cretcheu di Ceu by Cesária Évora is a beautiful expression of admiration and love for someone special. The lyrics begin by praising the beauty of the sunrise and how it reflects on the face of the person being addressed, who is described as a saintly figure without an altar. The face is further referred to as a source of light in the eyes of the person being addressed. There's a comparison made between the sky and the sea, as both share some essential features; the sky has stars, and the sea has sand, and the person being addressed is said to be a mermaid. The song highlights a paradox, where the world is seen as an illusion-filled with falsehood and untrustworthy people, yet the destiny of the person addressed is certain because they are a Cretcheu di Ceu (a believer of the sky).

In the second half, the song repeats the same verses but with more emphasis on the comparison between the sky and the sea, and how the person being addressed is similar to a mermaid, as someone who dwells in both worlds. The message remains the same - the world is filled with illusions and treachery, and one should guard their heart and put their faith in the sky.

Line by Line Meaning

Sol disponta di manhazinha
The sun rises early in the morning

Êl bem ilumina és bô carinha
It illuminates your beautiful face

Carinha di santa, santa sem altar
You have the face of a saint, without needing an altar

Bôs fonte de luz, dos fonte na bô olhar!
You are a source of light, with two sources in your eyes!

Ca bô s'pia pa ceu, pal ca tchomabo se cretcheu
Don't look to the sky, because you might become a dreamer

Ca bô s'pia pa mar, pal ka inveja bô olhar
Don't look at the sea, because others might become envious of you

Ceu tem estrela, sim c'ma mar tem area
The sky has stars, and the sea has sand

A mim djal contam, c'ma bô ê se sereia!
They tell me that I am a sailor, and you are a mermaid!

Bô bem p'esse mundo, bô tem de ba pa ceu
You came to this world, destined to go back to the sky

Destino ê certo, ser se cretcheu
Your fate is certain, to be a dreamer

Esse mundo ê falso, ele cheio d'ilusao
This world is false, full of illusions