Saturday Oct 11, 2008 (8pm)
Cesária Évora brings her majestic voice from the Cape Verde Islands to Cali tonight. Évora sings in the morna tradition, which incorporates elements of Portuguese fados and Brazilian modhinas with the poignancy of sodade, a local term that refers to the pain of lost loved ones coupled with a yearning for a better life. Évora began singing in São Vicente bars as a teenager — sometimes for her supper. It wasn't until she recorded an album in France at 47, after a 10-year "dark period," that she became an international sensation. Listening, you can almost taste the cognac and cigarettes of her past along with decades of accumulated heartbreak and wisdom.