SOUTH AFRICA: Scores attend a memorial service in honour of legendary singer Miriam Makeba

Record ID: 455855

  • Title: SOUTH AFRICA: Scores attend a memorial service in honour of legendary singer Miriam Makeba
  • Date: 16th November 2008
  • Summary: MIRIAM MAKEBA'S GRANDSON LUMUMBA SEATED PICTURE OF MIRIAM MAKEBA SUPERIMPOSED ON MAP OF AFRICA (SOUNDBITE) (English) SOUTH AFRICAN DEPUTY PRESIDENT, BALEKA MBETHE, SAYING: "We have come together to pay tribute to a soul that loomed larger than life, we are here to commiserate with the family, relatives and friends of Mama Africa, and to share in the loss of this beloved, African heroine, about whom we can say she was an outstanding patriot and a Pan-Africanist. We take this moment to say to the Makeba family, your pain is our pain, your loss is the loss of the entire world. I am sure we can agree that we are here to pay homage and celebrate a life lived to the fullest. It is for this reason that the tears we share are not tears of pain but are tears of joy, for Mama Makeba left a legacy that will be in our historical memory for generations to come." CLOSE UP OF MIRIAM MAKEBA'S GRANDDAUGHTER ZENZILE MKHIZE SOUTH AFRICAN JAZZ MUSICIAN JIMMY DLUDLU
  • Embargoed: 1st December 2008 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: South Africa
  • Country: South Africa
  • Topics: Entertainment,Obituaries
  • Reuters ID: LVA1BHC7JGG6FTOU3MTMYUX5ZK3K
  • Story Text: South Africans hold a public memorial for Miriam Makeba, one of Africa's best-known voices and a champion of the fight against apartheid during three decades in exile.
    South Africans gathered on Saturday (November 15) to hold a public memorial for Miriam Makeba, one of Africa's best-known voices and a champion of the fight against apartheid during three decades in exile.
    Makeba, aged 76, fell ill and died after a concert against organised crime in Italy last Sunday (November 9).
    About 2,000 people, including politicians, musicians and artists, paid their last respects to Makeba, known as "Mama Africa" and the "Empress of African Song". She was praised as a larger than life figure at the service at the Johannesburg Dome, a top concert venue.
    Makeba was the first black South African musician to gain international fame, winning renown in the 1950s for her sweeping vocals. She was loathed by South Africa's white minority rulers.
    "Though we shall never see her live on stage again, she will live on in our hearts and she will be immortalised through her beautiful music," South African Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said in an address to the gathering.
    Some came in black suits, others in colourful African dresses. Makeba always stressed her African pride through her hairstyles and traditional clothes. Her former second husband, South African musician Hugh Masekela, performed at the service.
    "I never thought there would be a day like this. And we would be standing here to come and say goodbye to Mama Africa for the last time. This is a big loss," said Somizi Mhlongo, a choreographer.
    Makeba spent 31 years in exile after speaking out against apartheid.
    One of her songs demanded the release of Nelson Mandela, who spent 27 years in jail for fighting white-minority rule. She returned home in 1990 on a French passport.
    She came from humble beginnings in a shantytown near Johannesburg. The former domestic servant started to sing in her school choir and learned new songs by listening to recordings of American jazz artists such as Ella Fitzgerald.
    Mixing jazz with traditional African sounds, Makeba punctuated some songs with the clicks of her Xhosa language, creating classics such as "The Click Song" and "Pata Pata".
    Makeba won international attention as lead singer for the South African band, The Manhattan Brothers. In New York, she worked with Harry Belafonte.
    While she won over millions on stage, Makeba's personal life was marred by tragedy. She was divorced four times but went on to marry for a fifth time.
    Her only daughter, Bongi, died giving birth.
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