Cesária Évora is a Cape Verdean folk singer. Nicknamed the "barefoot diva" for her preference of performing without shoes,http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060324.EVORA24/TPStory/TPEntertainment/ Évora is perhaps the best internationally-known practicioner of morna — a local genre related to Angolan landu, Portuguese fado and Brazilian modinha, with a sensibility often compared to the blues. History Cesária Évora lost her father at the age of seven. After his death, Cesária's mother struggled to support her on meager earnings as a cook, eventually entrusting Cesária to the care of an orphanage. It was in the orphanage choir that Cesária first learned to sing. At 16, Cesária met a Cape Verdean sailor named Eduardo who taught her the traditional Cape Verdean styles of music of coladeras and mornas. The mornas (which may be derived from the word mourn) are songs of sadness, sorrow and yearn

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z # TAGS