Cape Verde, Where is It?
Let's face it, most of us Americans don't even know where Cape Verde is (FYI, the former Portuguese colony is located off the coast of Western Africa) but that doesn't seem to matter: Their greatest singing export, Cesaria Evora, hits our shores in yet another tour as she promotes her most recent album, Rogamar.
The language barrier isn't an issue; she sings in Creole Portuguese, a dialect that blends the original language with influences from French and the original African tongue from pre-colonial times.
"It's like a badly spoken Portuguese," she says. But even so, it's sung by her in a way to inspire many a love affair.
Evora first sparked my crush with her voice when she sung a duet with Caetano Veloso on "É Preciso Perdoar"(Forgiveness is Necessary), a classic bossa-nova song that was featured in Red Hot and Rio, an all-star AIDS charity album that came out about 10 years ago.
Impressed by her deep, Sarah Vaughan-like voice, my infatuation was inflamed further when I later came across Best of Cesaria Evora-her collaborations with everyone from Celia Cruz to flame-haired guitarist Bonnie Raitt and Cuban pianist Chucho Valdez.
The sexagenarian Grammy winner has quite an amazing story: Mostly a bar singer in her native Mindelo in the '70s, she retreated from singing back then to raise a family.
It wasn't until she was in her forties that she returned to the stage and left her home to resume her career, which took off when she released La Diva Aux Pieds Nus (The Barefoot Diva) in 1988.
Her sincere, honest approach has attracted audiences in places that would seem unlikely for an African singer: A few years ago she appeared with Polish pop singer Kayah during a live set in Warsaw; dance music fans were recently introduced to her work through the recent remix album Club Sodade (Yearning Club), which appeared on turntables in clubland.
"People seem to feel the music, what the songs represent to them," Evora said. "Music is a universal language which needs no translation. I've been singing for various audiences for a long time, and I feel that they have responded well-they listen, and they understand it in their own way."
On Rogamar, which was recorded in Mindelo, Paris and Rio, she sings of various themes through music both by renowned Cape Verdean composers that have been part of her repertoire since her early days in Mindelo and new songwriters, such as newcomers Constantino Cardozo and Jon Luz.
The tunes nod to the country's colonial heritage, such as Manuel de Novas' "Sombras Di Distino" (Shades of Destiny) and "Amor e Mar" (Love And The Sea), which contain Portugese guitar and a fado-like feel (with lush string backing arranged by Brazilian cellist Jacques Morelenbaum).
There is a clear influence from Brazil in her music, as the presence of a cavaquinho (a four-stringed instrument that is tuned like a mandolin) in various tracks can attest.
Cape Verde is nicknamed "Little Brazil" due to its street Carnaval, and Evora does not deny that, having included "Mas Um Sonho" (Another Dream), a song that celebrates the four days of "folia" (partying) that precede the forty days of lent. Go on diva, let the party begin.