Cesária Évora is the singer to whom Google dedicated the doodle today. Born in Cape Verde, she became famous throughout the world as a representative of the morna genre
After a few days having dedicated a doodle to the Taiwanese singer Fong Fei-Fei, Google celebrates another internationally renowned singer: the Cape Verdean Cesária Évora. For the uninitiated, the doodle is the image that from time to time replaces the Google logo on the home page of the search engine and is dedicated to major international events or famous people who have passed away. As in the case of the singer Cesária Évora. Today, August 27th, it’s 78 years since she was born and Google wanted to celebrate her with a doodle so that everyone could know her story.
Cesária Évora was born in Mindelo, a small seaside town on the island of São Vicente. Known as the “barefoot diva” because she always loved to perform barefoot, she was the world’s leading interpreter of the morna genre, typical African island music that combines percussion with Portuguese fado, Brazilian music and British sea songs. The singer lived a very difficult childhood: at the age of seven she lost her father and her mother tried to raise her with a thousand difficulties. In the end she was forced to entrust her to an orphanage. It was here that the young Cesária Évora began to sing in the choir and to discover that she had an incredible gift: her own voice.
Cesária Évora, a life dedicated to music
Cesária Évora’s life has not been easy: she only achieved the success she deserved after the age of fifty. After a complicated childhood spent in an orphanage, she started working as a singer in bars and on cruise ships. But the salary was not enough and for a decade he stopped singing. Although in her homeland her talent was recognized, so much so that she was called the “queen of morna”, success came only after the 90s, when she landed in Europe and recorded her first records. First in Portugal and then in France she succeeded in making herself appreciated and to become a singer of international level.
The first record recorded in Europe bears the nickname by which she is known “La Diva Aux Pieds Nus”. But it is with “Miss Perfumado” that her name begins to become famous throughout the world. With the album “Cesaria” she achieved international fame and was also nominated for a Grammy Award. She also goes on tour in the United States where she sells out and attracts great artists who attend Cesária Évora’s show. She has also duetted with great Italian artists such as Gianni Morandi, Gigi D’Alessio and Ron.
In 2003 she also won the Grammy Awards with the album “Voz d’Amor”. Due to health problems, he retires from the world of music. At the age of 70, she died at the Baptista de Sousa Hospital on the island of São Vicente due to cardio-respiratory failure.
Today, Google’s doodle allows us to get to know a singer who is not very well known in Italy, but who is one of the biggest stars on the international scene.