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.
Oriundina
Cesária Évora Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Santa qui cai di céu
Sê odjo di pena ma sê boquinha di mel
Quem qui dja tel ja tem ventura di cretcheu
Oriundina é um santinha morena
Santa qui cai di céu
Sê odjo di pena ma sê boquinha di mel
Oriundina meiguinha
Ele nôs santa moreninha
Pa matam ês nôs dor
Basta sô sê amor
Oriundina meiguinha
Ele nôs santa moreninha
Pa matam ês nôs dor
Basta sô sê amor
Oriundina abri porta di ceu
Oriundina d'oriundo bem corrê bô amor
Bô ê medjor desse mundo
Oriundina d'oriundo bem corrê bô amor
Bô ê medjor desse mundo
Oriundina abri porta di ceu
Oriundina d'oriundo bem corrê bô amor
Bô ê medjor desse mundo
Oriundina d'oriundo bem corrê bô amor
Bô ê medjor desse mundo
...
Oriundina meiguinha
Ele nôs santa moreninha
Pa matam ês nôs dor
Basta sô sê amor
Oriundina meiguinha
Ele nôs santa moreninha
Pa matam ês nôs dor
Basta sô sê amor
Oriundina abri porta di ceu
Oriundina d'oriundo bem corrê bô amor
Bô ê medjor desse mundo
Oriundina d'oriundo bem corrê bô amor
Bô ê medjor desse mundo
The lyrics to Cesária Évora's song Oriundina exalt a saintly figure, a dark-skinned holy woman named Oriundina who has fallen from heaven to help those in pain. The song sings of her eyes full of empathy for the pain of others and her sweet mouth that speaks words of comfort. People who have had the privilege of talking to her are said to have good fortune because they have encountered a true believer in love. Oriundina has the power to open the gates of heaven and she is the best thing in the world, according to the song.
The song is a hymn-like tribute to the African diaspora, as the lyrics suggest she is a saint who has come from Africa. It is a joyful, upbeat love song to a holy figure who represents a convergence of African beliefs and Catholicism, a common theme in music from Cape Verde. The song evokes the idea of hope and a benevolent higher power intervening in people's lives, an idea that is central to many religious beliefs. The song is rooted in traditional African rhythms, with the guitar and percussion driving the melody forward.
Line by Line Meaning
Oriundina é um santinha morena
Oriundina is a little dark-skinned saint
Santa qui cai di céu
A saint that falls from heaven
Sê odjo di pena ma sê boquinha di mel
With sad eyes, but with a sweet mouth
Quem qui dja tel ja tem ventura di cretcheu
Whoever has her already has the fortune of the heavens
Oriundina meiguinha
Oriundina, the gentle one
Ele nôs santa moreninha
Our little dark-skinned saint
Pa matam ês nôs dor
To ease our pain
Basta sô sê amor
All that is needed is her love
Oriundina abri porta di ceu
Oriundina opens the door to heaven
Oriundina d'oriundo bem corrê bô amor
Oriundina, with her kind nature, runs to you with love
Bô ê medjor desse mundo
You are the best in the world
Contributed by Nolan Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@troygaspard6732
I saw her for this tour. She was unforgettable.
@christophermckenzie8321
The music of heaven. Soul meets Palestrina.
@user-kq5kh2gs5s
უძლიერესი როგორც ყოველთვის❤
@crochetpasoapasoconmary2327
Maravilhosa cesarea
@JorgeJTB
Uma poesia de fazer chorar a alma humana.
@alegenied471
Assolutamente...elisir per l'anima
@ericferreira3029
@@alegenied471 mi fa piacere che anche in Italia la nostra diva dai piedi scalzi è apprezzata
@saldira
(Espanhol, español, spanish)
Oriundina es un santita morena
Descendió del cielo
Sus ojos apenados, su boquita de miel
Quien la conoce conoce la verdadera pasión
Dulce Oriundina
Nuestra santa mestiza
Para aliviar nuestro dolor
Basta sólo su amor
Oriundina, abre la puerta del cielo
Oriundina d'Orion, únete a tu amada
Eres la mejor del mundo.
@saldira
Oriundina é um santinha morena
Santa qui cai di céu
Sê odjo di pena ma sê boquinha di mel
Quem qui dja tel ja tem ventura di cretcheu
Oriundina é um santinha morena
Santa qui cai di céu
Sê odjo di pena ma sê boquinha di mel
Quem qui dja tel ja tem ventura di cretcheu
Oriundina meiguinha
Ele nôs santa moreninha
Pa matam ês nôs dor
Basta sô sê amor
Oriundina meiguinha
Ele nôs santa moreninha
Pa matam ês nôs dor
Basta sô sê amor
Oriundina abri porta di ceu
Oriundina d'oriundo bem corrê bô amor
Bô ê medjor desse mundo
Oriundina d'oriundo bem corrê bô amor
Bô ê medjor desse mundo
Oriundina abri porta di ceu
Oriundina d'oriundo bem corrê bô amor
Bô ê medjor desse mundo
Oriundina d'oriundo bem corrê bô amor
Bô ê medjor desse mundo
@jeanyvesselem7287
J'adore la femme au pied nu