Singing 'Barefoot Diva' sold 500,000 albums at age 51

Cesária Évora spent most of her life in poverty. She found global fame at age 51. In 1992, the Cape Verdean singer released the album *Miss Perfumado*. It sold 500,000 copies in France alone. In the United States, Évora became the best-selling African artist of the 20th century. The album features *morna* ballads. These are mournful songs sung in Kriolu, a language that mixes old Portuguese with West African languages. Her voice was smoky and bruised, but seductive. Cape Verde is an archipelago about 400 miles off the coast of Senegal. It has around 800,000 people. Before Évora, its music was little known outside the country. Next month, a concert at London’s Barbican will celebrate her legacy. Rising Cape Verdean singers Ceuzany, Elida Almeida, Lucibela, and Teófilo Chantre will perform. Mayra Andrade, a celebrated vocalist mentored by Évora, will also appear. “She put Cape Verde on the map,” Andrade says. “We Cape Verdeans are determined to keep her name and music alive.”