Legendary Cape Verdean singer Cesaria Evora, nicknamed the “barefoot diva”, died Saturday in a hospital at the age of 70, three months after retiring due to ill health. The singing star, who won international acclaim with her sultry voice and melancholy ballads of lost love, died on her native island of Sao Vicente, Cape Verde Culture Minister Mario Lucio Sousa announced. In September, her record label Lusafrica said Evora had decided to end her career due to health problems. She underwent open heart surgery in May 2010. “I have no strength, no energy. I want you to say to my fans: forgive me, but now I need to rest,” Evora told French newspaper Le Monde at the time. “I infinitely regret having to stop because of illness, I would have wanted to give more pleasure to those who have followed me for so long,” she said. Evora has sung the blues-influenced “saudade” of her native Cape Verde since her 20s, but came to world fame late in life in 1992 after decades singing in the bars of Mindello, on Sao Vicente. Her third album Miss Perfumado, which came out that year, was a worldwide hit with more than 300,000 copies sold to date. In all she has produced 10 studio albums and an anthology of historic radio recordings while touring far from her Atlantic Island home. - AFP
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