"Miriam Makeba "Mama Afrika", one of the greatest singers of our time & tireless activist for the liberation of Africa died today. If you have not heard of her before check out these links. All exquisite songs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCc61z9IFu4 ß- Makeba sings "A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHxkiXALQjU&feature=related Makeba sings in 1966
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V74f9eIi9c0&feature=related
Miriam Makeba - Khawuleza 1966 (MUST LISTEN SONG)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85_9mKTg_Do&feature=related
Pata Pata from 1968
November 11, 2008
Miriam Makeba, Singer, Dies at 76
By ALAN COWELL
New York Times
LONDON — Miriam Makeba, a South African singer whose voice stirred hopes of freedom among millions in her own country though her music was formally banned by the apartheid authorities she struggled against, died overnight after performing at a concert in Italy on Sunday. She was 76.
The cause of death was cardiac arrest, according to Vincenza Di Saia, a physician at the private Pineta Grande clinic in Castel Volturno near
Ms. Makeba collapsed as she was leaving the stage, the South African authorities said. She had been singing at a concert in support of Roberto Saviano, an author who has received death threats after writing about organized crime.
Widely known as "Mama Africa," she had been a prominent exiled opponent of apartheid since the South African authorities revoked her passport in 1960 and refused to allow her to return after she traveled abroad. She was prevented from attending her mother's funeral after touring in the
Although Ms. Makeba had been weakened by osteoarthritis, her death stunned many in South Africa, where she stood as an enduring emblem of the travails of black people under the apartheid system of racial segregation that ended with the release from prison of Nelson Mandela in 1990 and the country's first fully democratic elections in 1994.
In a statement on Monday, Mr. Mandela said the death "of our beloved Miriam has saddened us and our nation."
He continued: "Her haunting melodies gave voice to the pain of exile and dislocation which she felt for 31 long years. At the same time, her music inspired a powerful sense of hope in all of us."
"She was
"One of the greatest songstresses of our time has ceased to sing," Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said in a statement. "Throughout her life, Mama Makeba communicated a positive message to the world about the struggle of the people of
For 31 years, Ms. Makeba lived in exile, variously in the
Music was a central part of the struggle against apartheid. The South African authorities of the era exercised strict censorship of many forms of expression, while many foreign entertainers discouraged performances in
From exile she acted as a constant reminder of the events in her homeland as the white authorities struggled to contain or pre-empt unrest among the black majority.
Ms. Makeba wrote in 1987: "I kept my culture. I kept the music of my roots. Through my music I became this voice and image of
She was married several times and her husbands included the American black activist Stokely Carmichael, with whom she lived in
In the
But she fell afoul of the
In one of her last interviews, in May 2008 with the British music critic Robin Denselow, she said she found her concerts in the
Ms. Makeba was born in
According to Agence France-Presse, she was often short of money and could not afford to buy a coffin when her only daughter in 1985. She buried her alone, barring a handful of journalists from covering the funeral.
She was particularly renowned for her performances of songs such as what was known as the Click Song — named for a clicking sound in her native tongue — or "Qongoqothwane," and Pata Pata, meaning Touch Touch in Xhosa. Her style of singing was widely interpreted as a blend of black township rhythms, jazz and folk music.
In her interview in 2008, Ms. Makeba said: "I'm not a political singer. I don't know what the word means. People think I consciously decided to tell the world what was happening in
In a tribute, Jacob Zuma, head of the ruling African National Congress, said the party "dips its banner in tribute to an African heroine, Miriam Zenzile Makeba, a freedom fighter and outstanding African cultural figure."
"Miriam Makeba used her voice, not merely to entertain, but to give a voice to the millions of oppressed South Africans under the yoke of apartheid," Mr. Zuma said.
Celia W. Dugger contributed reporting from
[Disclaimer: ALOCHONA Management is not liable for information contained in this message. The author takes full responsibility.]
To unsubscribe/subscribe, send request to alochona-owner@egroups.com
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe
__,_._,___