The secret is finally out! Cesaria Evora, from the island of Sao Vincente off Cape Verde on the west coast of Africa, is about to add Australia to her list of conquests.
This whisky-loving chain-smoking grandmother may be the new darling of the international music set, but even being top of the charts hasn't managed to change her.
Dubbed 'The Barefoot Diva', Cesaria is the queen of the morna, a soulful genre sung in Creole-Portuguese which expresses the sufferings of her people through music. Even those who do not understand her language are held spell-bound by the emotional power of her performances of these gutsy nostalgia-laden ballads. Cesaria is backed by her own five-piece band.
