 |
| Welcome to BuaNews, the gateway to quick and fresh government news and information |
| Home | Today's stories | This week's stories | Last week's stories | Other Features | International News | User policy |
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Compiled by the Government Communication and Information System Date: 11 Nov 2008 Title: Makeba's name synonymous with world wide struggle -------------------- Legendary musical icon, Miriam Makeba's name is synonymous with the world wide struggle against apartheid and for freedom in South Africa. For more than three decades, her music projected the African people's aspirations and hopes for a better world as no other musicians had done. The internationally renowned singer died at the age of 76, in Italy on Monday morning. Like the courageous soul she was, Miriam Zenzile Makeba ended her life on the road, performing in the south of Italy in support of an Italian journalist who had done a damning expose of the Mafia. At the time of her death, Sis Zenzi was doing what she lived for. She was on a tour of Italy acting as a cultural ambassador by taking African music to all the quarters of the globe. Miriam Makeba did not allow the glitter and glamour of the limelight in which she spent great part of her time all over the world, to blind her to her past and the problems of her home continent. She kept her eyes on the prize: creating one human family under one heaven. Although she was forced to leave her country in 1960, this neither crushed her resilience nor her commitment to the liberation of her people. Ms Makeba, known variously as "die Nutbrown baby" and other nicknames in her youth, was born in 1932 near Pretoria. From her mother, who was a traditional healer from Swaziland, she learnt many of her traditional African songs and chants. By the time she was a teenager, her talent had won her place in the famous Manhattan Brothers and she was also the key figure in the Skylarks women's quartet. When the famous musical King Kong was staged, she won the role of the female lead, playing opposite Nathan Mdledle. At the age of 26, Ms Makeba appeared in an anti-apartheid film titled 'Come Back Africa', shot inside South Africa by American film maker Lionel Rogosin. The movie highlighted the degrading conditions under which her people were forced to live. Her appearance in that film earned her an invitation to the Venice Film Festival in 1960 while the apartheid government seized her passport, compelling her to remain in exile for the next thirty years. In London, she met Harry Belafonte, who assisted her to move to the United States (US) and actively assisted in launching her international musical career. The release of her first album, self-titled Miriam Makeba in 1961, was the commencement of a brilliant future as the musical ambassador of the African continent. Her second album, The World of Miriam Makeba, where she employed the "wall of sound" techniques developed by rock musicians in the US, saw her expanded her repertoire to include, Swahili, Indonesian, west Indian and Brazilian songs. Collaborating with other South African musicians and students who began arriving in the US after 1962, Ms Makeba was instrumental in establishing scholarships for deserving black South Africans and employed her music as such to entertain as to conscientise the American public to the plight of the oppressed in South Africa. In 1965, she was invited to testify about the apartheid situation in South Africa before the United Nations. Her articulate presentation won the admiration of virtually every African ambassador and she was honoured with the citizenship of a number of newly independent countries. A collaborative album with Mr Belafonte, arranged by Jonas Gwangwa, titled An evening with Belafonte and Makeba, earned her Grammy in 1966. She was the first African performer to win one. Ever conscious of her African heritage, Ms Makeba played a pivotal role in shaping the character of African-American identity through her hair styles and the costumes she wore on stage. This significant cultural contribution was heightened when she married the radical activist, Kwame Toure, formerly known as Stokely Carmichael. As in her mother country, Ms Makeba was subjected to political harassment and victimisation for confusing her musical talent with political activism. Although not banned, she was blacklisted by promoters in the US and some of her concerts and recording contracts were cancelled. Meanwhile, the world embraced her for her unflinching stance. She moved back to the African continent, settling in Guinea which used as her home base travelling to Europe, Latin America, other parts of the continent and the Caribbean, espousing the African dream for a better world through her song. In recognition of her efforts, she won the Dag Hammerskjold Peace Prize and was awarded the UNESCO Grand Prix du Conseil International de la Musique. Perhaps more than any other African singer, Ms Makeba was able to use her art as a weapon of the struggle. Her international stature contributed immensely to the worldwide campaign for sanctions and the isolation of the apartheid regime. On the African continent, Ms Makeba distinguished herself as a patriot, advocating the just cause of the peoples of Southern Africa in the fight against colonialism and apartheid. Her songs, "Aluta Continua" and "Gauteng" spoke of her commitment to the liberation struggle and the cause of the African workers exploited in the gold mines of South Africa. She returned to South Africa in December 1990. Though she often said she would, she never left the stage and stayed on the road as a performer until the end. The music icon published two biographers in 1988 and 2004. She leaves behind a discography in excess of thirty albums that extends from her days with The Skylarks to her last album Reflections, recorded in South Africa in 2000. Miriam Makeba was, essentially, an African creative who won a place in the global cultural village thanks to her talent and magnificent voice. Hamba Kahle Sis' Zenzi! Source: The Department of Arts and Culture |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
