The famous Senegal’s singer Cesaria Evora will perform a concert in Morocco as part of the Rabat Song Festival to be held by the end of May, according to the daily al Sharq al Awsat.
The African singer will meet her fans to sing her most beautiful sad and nostalgic songs. Evora has met her Moroccan fans before at the concert she performed in Casablanca few years ago.
Cesaria Evora was born in 1941 in Mindelo, Cape Verde. With her great voice and stunning looks she soon attracted attention, but her hopes to become a professional singer were yet to be fulfilled. The singer Bana and a Cape Verde women's association respectively invited her to record in Lisbon but not one single producer showed any interest.
In 1988 a young Frenchman of Cape Verde blood, Josè Da Silva offered her to come to Paris to record an album. She was 47 at the time and had nothing to loose, she had never been to Paris before, so she agreed. In the same year, she released her first album entitled La Diva aux pieds nus, produced by Lusafrica. Bia Lulucha, a coladera with a zouk flavor was a big hit among the Cape Verdean community. On October 1 she gave her first gig in Paris at the New Morning Club in front of a small crowd.
Later, Evora has performed a concert at the Festival d' Angoulème in Paris and released her album Distino di Belita. In 1993 Miss Perfumado became a smash hit in France (with 200,000 copies sold so far). Evora performed for the first time in Lisbon at Teatro Sao Luis on May 25 and the local police had to prevent a huge crowd from penetrating the venue. In Paris she was celebrated by her French fans with two sold out gigs (June 12 and 13) at the prestigious theater L' Olympia. Then she went on a worldwide tour, performing in Barcelona on June 21, Spectrum in Montreal on July 14, Japan (late October) and France (with 30 shows during late 1993).
Caetano Veloso came on stage to accompany her during her performances in Sau Paulo and said that he considered Cesaria as one of the most influential female singers. Cesaria triumphed as well in Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Switzerland, Africa and the West Indies. She was signed to B.M.G. through her label Lusafrica and the compilation album Sodade, Les Plus Belles Mornas De Cesaria was released in the autumn. She gave up drinking, but not smoking – Albawaba.com
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
