{{Short description|Cape Verdean pianist}} {{Infobox writer | image = Epifânia de Freitas Silva Ramos Évora DSC07900 Espargos.jpg | image_size = <!-- Only for images narrower than 220 pixels --> | birth_date = {{birth date|1919|1|6|df=yes}} | birth_place = Mindelo, Cape Verde | death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2014|1|26|1919|1|6}} | death_place = Sal, Cape Verde | nationality = Cape Verdean | occupation = pianist, composer }}
'''Epifânia de Freitas Silva Ramos Évora''', better known as '''Dona Tututa''' or '''Tututa Évora''' (January 6, 1919 – January 26, 2014) was a Cape Verdean composer and a pianist.<ref name="AfricaTuta"/>
She is considered one of Cape Verde's legendary figure, she was the author of several songs including ''Grito d' Dor'', ''Sentimento'' (''Sentiment''), ''Mãe Tigre'' (''Mother of the Tiger'') and ''Vida Torturada'' (''Tortured Life''). Cesária Évora, Bana, Humbertona and her daughter Magda Évora are some of the performers who recorded her songs.
==Biography==
She was the daughter of António da Silva Ramos, who was Anton Tchiche. Her brother Tchufe (Pedro Alcântara Silva Ramos) was a guitarist and singer.
When she was a teenager, Tututa started her piano studies. She professionally played at Café Royal. She was the first woman on the island of São Vicente to play at night which was rare. Musically, she also challenged conventions to mend her training of a classical pianist with Cape Verdean traditional music.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rtc.cv/index.php?paginas=21&id_cod=7670|title=Tututa Évora completa 95 anos de idade|trans-title=Tututa Évora Became 95 Years Old|publisher=RTC|date=6 January 2014|language=pt}}</ref><ref name="AfricaTuta"/>
After she was married, she later resided in the island of Sal with her husband and her artistic career was suspended. They had twelve children, two of the daughters, Magda Évora and Milú Évora, are singers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.embcv.org.br/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=370|title=S. Vicente canta parabéns a Tututa Évora|publisher=Cape Verdean Embassy in Brazil|date=5 January 2009|language=pt|access-date=1 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308084029/http://www.embcv.org.br/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=370|archive-date=8 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>
She launched her only record in 1966 at the age of 47. Invited by Bana, she visited the United States where she recorded ''Rapsódia Tututa & Taninho'' with guitarist Taninho. Later, she participated in sporadic tours including in France, Guinea and Portugal. Together they released a compilation album in 2008 titled ''Cape-Verde (Mornas & Coladeiras)'' (or as ''Cape Verde: Mornas & Coladeiras''), the album features ten songs, one of them by Val Xalino, Léna Timas and Ingrid Monteiro
She died of pneumonia in 2014.<ref name="AfricaTuta">{{cite web|url=http://www.africa21digital.com/culturas/ver/20036154-faleceu-a-pianista-cabo-verdiana-tututa-evora|title=Faleceu a pianista cabo-verdiana Tututa Évora|trans-title=Cape Verdean Pianist Tututa Évora Dies|newspaper=Africa 21|date=27 January 2014|access-date=15 March 2016|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160316222256/http://www.africa21digital.com/culturas/ver/20036154-faleceu-a-pianista-cabo-verdiana-tututa-evora|archivedate=16 March 2016}}</ref>
==Awards and honors==
She was honored by the poem "Tututa" in 2008 by Alberto Rui Machado. Her name was given to the Escola Municipal de Artes do Sal, the Sal Municipal Arts School.
In 2013, João Alves da Veiga directed the documentary ''Dona Tututa'' which was about the works by the pianist and received the award for best film at the Cabo Verde International Film Festival for 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://asemana.publ.cv/spip.php?article96278&ak=1|title=Tututa – O último Rouxinol|newspaper=A Semana|date=31 January 2014|language=pt|access-date=1 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304041730/http://asemana.publ.cv/spip.php?article96278&ak=1|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>
One of the vessels at CV Interilhas is wearing the name Dona Tututa.
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [https://www.facebook.com/donatututa Dona Tututa at Facebook] * [http://vimeo.com/55519535 Dona Tututa at Vimeo]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tututa}} Category:Cape Verdean composers Category:Women composers Category:1919 births Category:2014 deaths Category:20th-century pianists Category:20th-century women pianists Category:People from Mindelo Category:Deaths from pneumonia in Cape Verde