The Queen Of Morna

The Queen Of Morna
Cesaria Evora

Hers was a siren, a voice that could seduce, sadden and soothe

with its elegance. Her music is the music of a cemented morna master.

Its queenly charm transcends time, language, country or culture.

 

Cesaria Evora was born in the port town of Mindello

on the Cape Verde Island of Sao Vicente.

Is it not an island country in Africa and a group

of islands in the Atlantic Ocean?

 

Indeed, she was born and raised on the island of São Vicente,

in the Republic of Cabo Verde or Cape Verde which is an archipelago

off the west coast of Africa.

 

An ultimate white sand beach experience in Cape Verde lies across the lovely

islands of Sal, Boa Vista and Maio; an adventure of kitesurfing, windsurfing,

surfing, diving and fishing where a dry tropical weather gives distinction

to the worth of time, easing, wonder, warmth, shining waters and music.

 

This poem is a proud and loud acknowledgment of Cesaria Evora’s

easy and vocal prowess, legacy, cultural queenship and musicianship.

Following the death of her music father— her mom— unable to fend

for her, placed her in an orphanage.

 

With an adorably compelling and rare voice, by the age of 16, Cesaria

was already serenading patrons with her touching songs of loss

at local bars and taverns. Her voice had a melodic presence.

 

She belted out her songs in Kriolu,

which derives from West African dialects and Portuguese

— the language of Cape Verde’s former colonizer.

 

She performed without shoes, often receiving tokens in the form

of snacks and tiny tips from the sailors who arrived on the Portuguese

cruise ships that docked at Mindelo.

Amazingly, all that modesty gave birth to majesty.

Her power of speech evoked splendor and glamor.

Her success was not an event, but an arduous journey

of highs and lows, delays and disappointments.

 

In the 1970s she decided to retire from music

because in spite of enjoying local exposure,

she was not making much money.

“I wasn’t making any money out of it,

so I just stopped,” she admitted.

Talented, but frustrated, she gave up singing

from the mid-1970s until 1985.

 

Her great break proclaimed its arrival

in the 1980s when she met José da Silva.

After singing for several years without making

much commercial success   — and even retiring

at one point—she finally found fame in France.

 

Miss Perfumado, was her efficacious and delicious album

that made her a shining force to be reckoned with

in France and Portugal.

 

It contained two of her most popular songs,

“Sodade” and “Angola”.

I have an honored and privileged confession to make:

“Sodade” is my international, repeated and riveting anthem.

 

It retailed over 200,000 copies in France alone.

It is said she always felt strong ties

to her homeland. Her heart was rooted

in her Africa, in her birthplace—Cape Verde Island.

 

At the age of 51, she became a huge star.

She performed to high acclaim in Europe, the US, Canada, Africa

and Brazil.

She delivered sold-out performances across the US.

She enjoyed sold-out concerts in France too.

 

Come 1995, a blend of Évora’s gorgeous vocals with the richness

of guitars, percussion and violin was the right recipe

for a 1996 Grammy nomination.

Her album Cesária was nominated

 for Best World Music Album.

It went double gold in France.

 

By the mid-2000’s, Évora was a distinguished artist around the world.

Her ninth album, Voz d’Amor saw her notch up a 2004 Grammy victory.

.

She was not snared and stolen away by the trimmings,

titbits and twinkles of fame and fortune.

She was a dear, extraordinary African daughter,

and a proud, cool and creative Cape Verdean to the core.

 

“I wasn’t astonished by Europe and I was never that impressed

by the speed and grandeur of modern America” she disclosed.

“I only regret my success has taken so long to achieve.”

 

Often referred to as “The Barefoot Diva” since she regularly

performed on stage in bare feet. She sang songs about longing,

relationships, heartache, caring for the elderly and homesickness.

Her lyrics, sentimental in nature, usually addressed issues

of affection, poverty, grief, departure and separation.

 

Ceseria’s songs and albums include Cabo Verde terra estimada

La Diva Aux Pieds Nus (1988), Sodade, Miss Perfumado, Angola (1992),

Papa Joachin Paris, Live à Paris (1993), Petit Pays, Cesária (1995),

Nha Cancera Ka Tem Medida, Cesária (1995), Cabo Verde (1997)

SanGue De Beirona (1997), and Carnaval De Sao Vicente, Café Atlantico

 (1999)

 

Morna is a musical practice of Cabo Verde.

It is a traditional Cape Verdean musical and choreographic practice

with instrumental accompaniment that combines voice, music, poetry,

and dance.

 

This musical and choreographic practice can either be performed through song

or played only with instruments, mostly chordophones, the guitar, violin,

ten-string guitar, replaced with a cavaquinho in the twentieth century,

and the ukulele.

 

Over the years, other instruments have now been incorporated, namely

the piano, percussion and bass – though the guitar remains the favored

apparatus. The emotional poetry can be spontaneous, typically with themes

centered around love, parting, reunion, longing, the ocean and the homeland.

In the past, the lyrics were also composed in Portuguese, however, these days,

the compositions are predominantly in Cape Verdean Creole.

 

She dished out a mournful genre of blues music known as morna,

and it is true, it grew an eminent standing as the ‘Queen of Morna”.

 

 Sodade 

Quem mostrava esse caminho longe?
Quem mostrava esse caminho longe?
Esse caminho pa São Tomé

Quem mostrava esse caminho longe?
Quem mostrava esse caminho longe?
Esse caminho pa São Tomé

Sodade, sodade
Sodade dessa minha terra, São Nicolau
Sodade, sodade
Sodade dessa minha terra, São Nicolau

Quem mostrava esse caminho longe?
Quem mostrava esse caminho longe?
Esse caminho pra São Tomé

 

[Verse 1]
Who showed you this far path?
Who showed you this far path?
This path to São Tomé
Who showed you this far path?
Who showed you this far path?
This path to São Tomé

[Chorus]
I miss, I miss
I miss my hometown São Nicolau
I miss, I miss
I miss my hometown São Nicolau

 

Cesária Évora Orchestra.

No wonder the Royal Conservatory announced

that the Orchestra is set to bring together the cream

of Cape Verdean musicians and vocalists to honour

the late and legendary Cesária Évora at the Koerner Hall,

under the auspices or series of Global Music

on   February 22, 2025 at 8:00 PM.

 

The tribute to the “Barefoot Diva” will feature

some of Cape Verde’s greatest voices, including Elida Almeida,

Teófilo Chantre, Lucibela, and Nancy Vieira alongside band members

from Évora’s band.

 

Much earlier on, in a November 8, 2017 article titled

The 150 Greatest Albums Made By Women:

Shocking Omissions: Cesária Évora’s ‘Cesária’,

Chaka V. Grier said and summated it supremely thus:

“If there were ever a voice that embodied that of a siren,

a voice that could seduce, sadden and soothe with its elegance,

it was Cesária Évora’s. It was the voice that lifted Cape Verde’s little-

known blues, morna, beyond the island and into the international world

of music”.

 

My second and last confession: I couldn’t have put it any better myself

about the vocal rareness, deftness and deepness of Cesária Évora’s music,

a superstar who was also commonly known as Cize.

 

Aged 70, having liberated herself from poverty

into global stardom and inspiration through

her appealing music on love, nostalgia, and the history

of the Cape Verdean people, “the Queen of Morna” rested

on December 17, 2011 in São Vicente, Cabo Verde.

 

Her larger-than life musical legacy

continues to shine and live on.

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