Diva Barros

Diva Barros was born in the cosmopolitan Cape Verdean city of Mindelo. Infused with her caboverdianidade (Cape Verdean-ness), Diva’s voice paints the traces of her soul; her music is the colorful canvas she offers to the world. Diva fuses music from different cultures, but her repertoire centers on Cape Verdean music, where morna, coladeira, and other rhythms of the archipelago make their mark.

As she completed her university studies in the mid-’90s, Diva also made her public debut as a performer in Portugal. Shortly thereafter, she began to perform frequently both in Cape Verde and on international stages, having enchanted the audience with her powerful voice. 

This very voice won her the Cesária Évora Award for best female voice (Mindelo, 2005 and 2007), as well as multiple nominations at the Cape Verde Music Awards. In 2011, after producing and releasing Palco d’Vida (“The Stage of Life”) in collaboration with virtuoso and Musical Director Hernâni Almeida, she won CVMA acclaim, sweeping two categories: Best CD and Best music of the Year. The next year, Diva was recognized as the best voice at Le Kollatier; the following year, she was given similar praise at the 2013 New Orleans Festival. 

In July 2021, Diva released the new album Um Bem dum Cavaquim (“I came from a Cavaquinho”); among its nine tracks feature four originals, as well as a rendition of B.Léza’s “Morabeza” in collaboration with Tito Paris. The album’s titular track sums up the essence of her life as a musician’s daughter: the rehearsal environment of her father’s band, the art of making music, and the ambiance of traditional Cape Verdean nights in the beautiful city of Mindelo. Um Bem dum Cavaquim and Diva won awards from three organizations in 2022: The International Portuguese Music Award, the Cape Verdean Society of Musicians Award, and the Cabo Verde Music Awards.