The hard years she endured before her career took off in the early nineties, she believes give her a keener context in which to enjoy her subsequent success:

"What delights me today is the happiness of having got through all the years of suffering to better enjoy the life I live now. At home we say 'it's better to drink the venom first and the honey later'. Now I'm drinking the honey."

Tenth album

She has recently released her tenth album 'Rogamar' with wafting rhythms and melodies that whisper of sea breezes and sunshine from across her home island of São Vicente.

Cesaria Evora born 27th August 1941 Grammy nominee in 1999 Five million albums sold

Keeping the authentic Cape Verdian flavour is part of who Cesaria is, and she selected some of her collaborators locally.

The songwriting and some of the accompaniments on the album come from her hometown, the port of Mindelo, where she is at the forefront of the Lusitanian musical movement with her own studio there.

African identity

That said, her identity is also powerfully African and this too is strongly reflected in the Portuguese Creole songs that she sings.

Paris has long held a powerful attraction for the singer, her long time producer José Da Silva, lives there and she loves to perform there.

It was in Paris that we met Cesaria Evora and through an interpreter she told us about the album and inspiration behind tracks like 'Africa Nossa'.

Click hear to listen to Cesaria's thoughts about Africa