Monday night was a special night for Bucharest. A great woman enchanting with her voice people within the Sala Polivalenta concert hall. It was not the first Cesaria Evora concert in Bucharest, but it was the first I attended. It was a unique experience that I recommend to everyone. A short, too short visit if it does not last for days, into a world of music lovers, of people finding a perfect state within the music they create and enjoying every moment of it, making you feel there is nothing else they'd rather do.

I bought the tickets to this concert as a birthday present to K. He is simply in love with Cesaria Evora's music. I also enjoyed listening her songs from time to time, but I wasn't what you've called a world's greatest fan. That changed quite a lot since the concert...

Cesaria Evora is one of the very few artists on the international stage that sounds ten thousands times better live than recorded. The vibrations in her voice, the contribution of the band, I don't know what it is exactly that makes you wonder why you were not addicted to such music before. I remember a few years back reading newspaper announcements on her previous concerts. They said her voice had the inheritance and sound of cigars and rum. That is maybe true, or just a way to describe a voice so unique. I believe she also has something God put in her voice to make people genuinly happy or sad, depending on the songs she happens to be singing at a certain moment.

I cannot state I knew all the songs played during this one hour and a half concert. Some I had heard before, such as Sodade, some were alltogether new. I instantly loved all of them.

And I took it as a personal favor that during her encore she sang Besame mucho. This is for me one of the few songs that can describe at once someones ultimate mix of passion, love and fears. That unique moment when you would want time to stop in a moment so perfect you are afrain of what might follow, as you are afraid you will not be allowed to enjoy the same happiness they after day.

The sax and violin players were my personal favorites from the band. They did not stop dancing for a moment and they had such smiles on their face, such a love of life, that they were contagious. I could not help smiling as well for most of this concert.

And then Besame Mucho, the fear of the next day when K was supposed to leave as he came for a quick trip only for this concert...He did not, we had another day togther.

I listened to Cesaria Evora songs after the concert. Yes, they are all great songs, but nothing compared to seeing her perform! It's an experience no one should waste for any reason. We are sometimes close to such greatness that we feel inspired, trasformed, touched. People having such an aura are rare and we are given few opportunities to be near them. No chance should be ever wasted.

Cesaria Evora, born in 1941 in the port town of Mindelo on the Cape Verde island of Sao Vicente, is known as the barefoot diva because of her propensity to appear on stage in her bare feet in support of the disadvantaged women and children of her country.

Long known as the queen of the morna, a soulful genre sung in Creole-Portuguese, she mixes her sentimental folk tunes filled with longing and sadness with the acoustic sounds of guitar, cavaquinho, violin, accordian, and clarinet.

More details on Cesaria Evora and her albums here and here

All photos form the concert on Views of a Broken Mirror.

Tags: Cesaria Evora, Concerts, Live Music, Music, Cape Verde, Morna, Bucharest, Sala Polivalenta