Cesaria Evora a Grammy-winning singer who brought the \"morna\" music of her native Cape Verde to the world, died today in her home country, the Associated Press reports. She was 70.
Born on Aug. 27, 1941, in Mindelo -- a port city in an archipelagic nation located off the western coast of Africa -- Evora began singing as a teenager, after a friend convinced her to take the stage of a local tavern. Initially paid in free drinks, she became known as the \"Barefoot Diva,\" as she performed her homeland\'s eclectic, soulful music without shoes.
Blessed with a voice the French newspaper Le Monde once said could \"melt the soul,\" Evora was no overnight success. She didn\'t find international fame until 1988, when her album \'Le Diva Aux Pieds Nus,\' or \'Barefoot Diva,\' made her a global phenomenon. Seven years later, her mega-selling \'Cesaria\' earned her a Grammy nomination and led to a world tour.
In 2003, her \'Voz D\'Amor\' album won a Grammy in the World Music category. Two years later, the lifelong smoker was diagnosed with heart problems, and after suffering a stroke in September 2011, she announced her retirement.
Often compared to jazz legend Billie Holiday, Evora popularized a style of music reflective of Cape Verde\'s international character. Throughout the 1940s, nightclubs in the former Portuguese colony attracted sailors from around the world, and in a 2000 interview with the AP, Evora described the genre that made her a superstar.
\"Our music is a lot of things,\" she said. \"Some say it\'s like the blues, or jazz. Others says it\'s like Brazilian or African music, but no one really knows. Not even the old ones.\"