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.

Voz D'Amor
Cesária Évora Lyrics

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Um canto, um silêncio, um voz qui ca soá
Um mágoa entranhóde na coração
Um surto di dor, lágrima cristalina
Pa consolança d'um perdido amor

Carícia tão leve d'um beijo tão breve
Um gosto, um sabor revelóde moda uma flor
Lembrança dum sonho ta fluctuá na nha mente

Presença ausente di bô carinho

Um canção ta nascê novamente
Pa trazê um razão di nô crê
Voz d'amor ta bem ser voz activa
Seu grito ta intchí nôs alma
Um canção ta nascê novamente
Pa trazê um razão di nô crê
Voz d'amor ta bem ser voz activa
Seu grito ta intchí nôs alma

E coração di mundo intêr
E coração di mundo intêr

Um canto, um silêncio, um voz qui ca soá
Um mágoa entranhóde na coração
Um surto di dor, lágrima cristalina
Pa consolança d'um perdido amor

Carícia tão leve d'um beijo tão breve
Um gosto, um sabor revelóde moda uma flor
Lembrança dum sonho ta fluctuá na nha mente
Presença ausente di bô carinho

Um canção ta nascê novamente
Pa trazê um razão di nô crê
Voz d'amor ta bem ser voz activa
Seu grito ta intchí nôs alma

Um canção ta nascê novamente
Pa trazê um razão di nô crê
Voz d'amor ta bem ser voz activa
Seu grito ta intchí nôs alma

E coração di mundo intêr

E coração di mundo intêr
E coração di mundo intêr

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Cesária Évora's song "Voz D'Amor" speak to the power of love and its ability to heal and bring meaning to our lives. The song starts by describing a voice that doesn't sound, a silence that holds a deep sorrow in the heart. This sorrow is expressed through tears, symbolized by the crystal clear tears of pain caused by a lost love.

The lyrics continue with the mention of a light caress, a brief kiss, and the taste and scent of a flower. These images represent the fleeting moments of love and affection that linger in the memory, even when the presence of the loved one is absent. The song suggests that these memories and the love they represent can create a new reason for belief.

"Voz D'Amor" emphasizes the importance of love as an active force. The voice of love can ignite a fire in our souls, bringing forth a song that is born anew. This song, with its active voice, brings a reason to believe and fills our souls with its passionate cry. The song concludes by repeating the phrase "E coração di mundo intêr" which translates to "And heart of the whole world," suggesting that love has the power to connect and heal not only individual hearts but also the whole world.

Line by Line Meaning

Um canto, um silêncio, um voz qui ca soá
A song, a silence, a voice that doesn't sound

Um mágoa entranhóde na coração
A sorrow deeply rooted in the heart

Um surto di dor, lágrima cristalina
An outburst of pain, crystal tears

Pa consolança d'um perdido amor
To console a lost love

Carícia tão leve d'um beijo tão breve
A gentle caress of a fleeting kiss

Um gosto, um sabor revelóde moda uma flor
A taste, a flavor reminiscent of a flower

Lembrança dum sonho ta fluctuá na nha mente
The memory of a dream fluctuating in my mind

Presença ausente di bô carinho
The absent presence of your affection

Um canção ta nascê novamente
A song is born again

Pa trazê um razão di nô crê
To bring a reason to believe

Voz d'amor ta bem ser voz activa
The voice of love is meant to be active