Born: 27 August 1941 in Mindelo, Cape Verde.
International singer combining many musical styles, though most notibly the more uptempo Coladeira, and its derivative lower tempo Morna (songs of sadness), both from her native islands of Cape Verde and mostly sung in Cape Verdean Creole and/or sometimes Portuguese.
She became internationally well-known much later in her career, after she returned after a ten year absence to perform some concerts in Portugal and record and release an album in Paris in 1988 called "La Diva Aux Pieds Nus (The Barefoot Diva)".
Much later in the late 1990's to 2000's, this also included in dance music circles of developed countries, as many of her songs have been remixed —one most notibly by
François Kevorkian &
Joe Claussell of track "
Carnaval De Sao Vicente" (1999), and another by
Carl Craig of track "
Angola" (2003)— which helped introduce her songs far and wide, as well as to a growing younger audience.
Her songs are often highly regarded as a hallmark of the country and culture of Cape Verde.