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.
Roma Criola
Cesária Évora Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Bo conche o Mindelo
Bo porto-coracao
Ta irriga-bo di riqueza
Um era d'esplendor
Qui tcha tracos na povo
Na boa arquitetura
Qui faze di bo
Um roma criola
Gloriosa e decadente
Ma hoje bo tita vive
Ness gloria passada
Bo historia bo ca ta pode
Refaze'I
Uvi voz di bos poeta
Ta canta p'um futuro risonho
Pa bo e Cabo Verde
Se Mindelo um vez era sabe
Inda el ta ser mas sabe
Se Mindelo uma vez era sabe
Inda el ta ser mas sabe
The lyrics of Cesaria Evora's song Roma Criola speak about the history and glory of Mindelo, a city in Cape Verde, which was once a prosperous and cosmopolitan center of trade and culture. The song talks about a time of splendor when the city was alive with the voices of poets, the architecture was grand and sophisticated, and Mindelo was a melting pot of different cultures, making it a true 'criolla' city. The singer evokes images of the past that are still remembered and appreciated by the people of Cape Verde.
However, the mood changes as the song progresses, and it becomes apparent that Mindelo's glory days are over, and the city is now a shadow of its former self. The lyrics urge the people of Cape Verde to remember their past and to preserve their rich cultural heritage. The song ends with a message of hope, encouraging the people to look forward to a bright future and to continue to sing the praises of Cape Verde and Mindelo.
Line by Line Meaning
Um fase di oro
A time of gold
Bo conche o Mindelo
You know Mindelo
Bo porto-coracao
Your heart harbor
Ta irriga-bo di riqueza
Irrigates you with wealth
Um era d'esplendor
An era of splendor
Qui tcha tracos na povo
That left traces in the people
Na boa arquitetura
In good architecture
Bo cosmopolitismo
Your cosmopolitanism
Qui faze di bo
That made of you
Um roma criola
A Creole Rome
Gloriosa e decadente
Glorious and decadent
Ma hoje bo tita vive
But today you still live
Ness gloria passada
In that past glory
Bo historia bo ca ta pode
Your story cannot be redone
Refaze'I
Remade it
Uvi voz di bos poeta
Listen to the voice of your poets
Ta canta p'um futuro risonho
They sing for a bright future
Pa bo e Cabo Verde
For you and Cape Verde
Se Mindelo um vez era sabe
If Mindelo was once wise
Inda el ta ser mas sabe
It would still be even wiser
Se Mindelo uma vez era sabe
If Mindelo was once wise
Inda el ta ser mas sabe
It would still be even wiser
Contributed by Mateo D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.