Interviewed by Teresa Sofia Fortes

Who was responsible for your entry to Rádio Barlavento to record in the 1960s? Ti Goi?

No, it was Luís Carlos. At the time, the people who accompanied me when I performed were Ti Goi and Careca. Wherever I’d go sing, especially at the Grémio, they accompanied me. So when I received the invitation to record at Rádio Barlavento, they were the ones who accompanied me.

How did you react to the invitation to record?

I was used to singing in bars, restaurants and foreign ships that would dock at São Vicente sea port. So I reacted normally. But of course I liked it.

What was it like to go into a studio for the first time in your early 20s to record?

I was surrounded by my friends and musical companions, so I felt at ease and we recorded without any difficulty.

When you heard your voice on Rádio Barlavento, how did you react?

When I heard my voice for the first time, I thought it was kind of strange. But as I listened more I felt better, and I was glad to be heard all over the island of São Vicente. As time went by it became normal for me.

The journalist Carlos Gonçalves says that you were Ti Goi’s “pearl.” What was it like to know Ti Goi, who is considered one of the best coladeira composers of all time?

Ti Goi and I knew each other well. He and Careca would accompany me at performances in private homes, on ships, everywhere. We were friends and it made me, and still makes me, extremely happy to sing his songs. But I also would sing with Frank Cavaquinho and Luís Rendall, two other major figures in Cape Verdean music to this day.

Were you the one who would choose the songs, or was it Ti Goi?

He would often bring me songs. Other times, I would find out about one and share it with him. I would choose the ones I liked, whose lyrics said something to me and whose melody I found pleasant. We would rehearse and perform them at public events and record them at Rádio Barlavento. It was all live, without any major equipment, and very different from what happens nowadays.

At the time, according to what I know, you were paid 25 escudos for every recording. Is that right?

Yes, that’s right, they would pay me 25 escudos for every song recorded. Once I recorded eight songs in just one day and got 200 escudos! Other women would record too – Arminda Santos, Mité Costa, Titina Rodrigues, but I don’t know if they paid them. I also recorded at the Rádio Clube do Mindelo, but there they never paid me.

What could this money buy?

A lot. At the time life was cheaper, and with 200 escudos you could solve a lot of problems. But now… things have change. [laughs] Completely!

At the Museum of Traditional Art, where the Recreational Club once functioned, I read that the club only accepted associates who were the elite of Mindelo. How did they react when you would sing those racy songs by Ti Goi?

It was very interesting. Lulu Marques invited me and Arlinda Santos and another singer whose name I don’t remember, maybe Mtié Costa, to perform at the Recreational Club when a delegation from a school in Coimbra [Portugal] came to visit Mindelo. That day, Lula Marques decided to buy me a pair of shoes. I told him I didn’t want to wear them. But he insisted and I accepted. We went to Mr. Neves store, where he bought me a pair of little black shoes. I went to the Recreational Club with my new shoes, but I wasn’t comfortable. When my turn to sing came, I wasn’t feeling at ease. A woman whose name I don’t know, but who I think was the director of the school in Coimbra I mentioned, asked me if I was feeling well. So I confessed to her that I didn’t want to wear those shoes. So she replied, if you want to sing barefoot, feel free. So I took off the shoes and sang. I showed Lulu that right then I was the one in charge, because the people had gone there to hear me sing. And, after all, I was born barefoot.

Don’t you like to wear shoes?

No, but that’s not the point. I just don’t like people to oblige me to do things I don’t want to do.

At that time, you recorded a record for the Casa João Mimoso store. What was it like?

People liked it. It’s just too bad João Mimoso never paid me. The Organization of Cape Verdean Women [OMCV] also never paid me when I recorded “Mar Azul” in 1985. That only came to happen later. After that, I went to Portugal with Bana in 1987 and recorded four records there.

Even though you recorded these albums, in contrast to other artists, you didn’t get a loto f publicity? Why?

Well, at that time I didn’t have my producer, Djô da Silva, whom God put in my path, with me yet. He took me to France and pushed forward my career, which today is what everyone can see.

So is Djô da Silva very important for you?

Of course!

In an article about you, Carlos Gonçalves says that “the success Cesária has conquered is a revenge of destiny and a victory for Cape Verdean music.” Do you agree?

Yes. I worked for a long time, but I was never recognized or compensated. Thanks to Djô da Silva, in 1987 I had my first performance in France, and I caught the attention of the media. Now here I am with my Grammy and the gold records I’ve achieved in several countries.

What did you think about Djô da Silva’s idea of releasing a CD with the hits you sang and recorded at Rário Barlavento, and which had been forgotten at the Cape Verdean National Radio archives in São Vicente?

I loved the idea. The CD is a souvenir of the first years of my career that I’m going to keep close to my heart.