The Queen of Africa: The Miriam Makeba Story

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0:00:03 > 0:00:05CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

0:00:05 > 0:00:07'Was born in Johannesburg.

0:00:09 > 0:00:11'She was the first of the great singers

0:00:11 > 0:00:14'from her country to bring South African music to the world.'

0:00:14 > 0:00:18CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

0:00:18 > 0:00:22'They call her Mama Africa, the Queen of South African Music,

0:00:22 > 0:00:24'Miriam Makeba.'

0:00:24 > 0:00:27CHEERING

0:00:28 > 0:00:32MUSIC: "Soweto Blues" by Miriam Makeba

0:00:38 > 0:00:40# The children were flying

0:00:40 > 0:00:43# Bullets dying

0:00:43 > 0:00:48# The mothers screaming and crying

0:00:48 > 0:00:53- # The fathers were working in the city- Ooh

0:00:53 > 0:00:58# The evening news brought out all the publicity

0:00:58 > 0:01:02# Just a little atrocity

0:01:04 > 0:01:07# Deep in the city

0:01:09 > 0:01:14# Soweto blues

0:01:14 > 0:01:20# Soweto blues

0:01:20 > 0:01:26# Soweto blues

0:01:26 > 0:01:30# Soweto blues... #

0:01:30 > 0:01:36My name happens to be Zenzile Makeba

0:01:36 > 0:01:42Qgwashu Nguvama Yiketheli Nxgowa Bantana Balomzi Xa Ufnu Ubajabulisa

0:01:42 > 0:01:50Ubaphekeli Mbiza Yotshwala Sithi Xa Saku Qgiba Ukutja Sithathe Izitsha

0:01:50 > 0:01:57Sizi Khabe Singama Lawu Singama Qgwashu Singama Nqamla Nqgithi.

0:01:57 > 0:02:00# Way up

0:02:00 > 0:02:01# High Up

0:02:01 > 0:02:04# Way up on Kilimanjaro

0:02:04 > 0:02:09# Resting when the drums are drumming

0:02:09 > 0:02:10# Time to go out hunting

0:02:10 > 0:02:13# Kilimanjaro

0:02:13 > 0:02:17# Da na-na-na-naa na-na

0:02:17 > 0:02:23# Kilim

0:02:23 > 0:02:26# Kilim Kilim Kilim Kill that savage lion

0:02:26 > 0:02:28# Before the lion kills you

0:02:28 > 0:02:31# Mmm-mm-mm-mmmmm... #

0:02:31 > 0:02:36My mother was caught brewing this African beer

0:02:36 > 0:02:39which we called umqombothi.

0:02:39 > 0:02:40And she was arrested.

0:02:40 > 0:02:42I was 18-days-old.

0:02:47 > 0:02:51She did the six months in jail with the baby.

0:02:51 > 0:02:52Me.

0:02:52 > 0:02:57# Kilim

0:02:57 > 0:02:59# Kilim Kilim Kilim

0:02:59 > 0:03:02# Kill that savage lion Before the lion kills you

0:03:02 > 0:03:04# Mm-mm mmm-mmm... #

0:03:09 > 0:03:12I've always liked music, since I was very young.

0:03:12 > 0:03:18And in 1952, I joined a group, they were not professional,

0:03:18 > 0:03:22but, singing with them around the country,

0:03:22 > 0:03:24I was heard by another group

0:03:24 > 0:03:27and they were already professional performers

0:03:27 > 0:03:31and they asked me to join them.

0:03:31 > 0:03:34And I sang with them for three years.

0:03:34 > 0:03:39One thing with Miriam, she had the kind of rendering

0:03:39 > 0:03:44some of the songs that she did with the most perfect feeling.

0:03:44 > 0:03:46If it was going to be a little, jazzy kind of thing,

0:03:46 > 0:03:48she used to be there.

0:03:48 > 0:03:53If it was going to be a sentimental song, she was ready.

0:03:53 > 0:03:56Miriam came on and sang with the Cuban Brothers

0:03:56 > 0:03:58and the 13 of us were up in the balcony

0:03:58 > 0:04:02and we were just completely mesmerised.

0:04:02 > 0:04:06Completely mesmerised. That was the first time I saw Miriam, 1953.

0:04:06 > 0:04:10And we were all madly in love with her, you know.

0:04:10 > 0:04:13She had such an impact on us, we were just blown away.

0:04:18 > 0:04:22MUSIC: "Tula Ndivile" by Miriam Makeba and The Manhattan Brothers

0:04:43 > 0:04:46And we were always saying, "Hey, there's Miriam Makeba."

0:04:46 > 0:04:49And she was, her and The Skylarks were just,

0:04:49 > 0:04:51like, the meanest dressers.

0:04:51 > 0:04:55I mean, they were the best dressed women in the country.

0:04:55 > 0:04:58Er, erm.

0:04:58 > 0:05:03And they wore, like, very high heels and they just, like,

0:05:03 > 0:05:04nobody looked like them.

0:05:04 > 0:05:07Even Marilyn Monroe couldn't get anywhere near them.

0:05:07 > 0:05:14The Skylarks was more for recording. It was Gallo Records' baby.

0:05:14 > 0:05:18It was during the era of the girl groups, you know,

0:05:18 > 0:05:20all those girl groups from America.

0:05:20 > 0:05:24Because, during that time,

0:05:24 > 0:05:28our music was very much influenced by the American music industry.

0:05:28 > 0:05:31Songs that were a hit in America,

0:05:31 > 0:05:36they would give those songs to sing them in Zulu or in Sotho.

0:05:36 > 0:05:37And she was very professional.

0:05:37 > 0:05:42When it came to rehearsals or performances or dressing up,

0:05:42 > 0:05:46she would say to you, "You look good on stage and off stage.

0:05:46 > 0:05:48"You respect yourself on stage and off stage,

0:05:48 > 0:05:51"so that the people can respect you."

0:05:51 > 0:05:55Miriam never studied music, it was just natural talent.

0:05:55 > 0:05:58But I think because, before she left the country,

0:05:58 > 0:06:02she had been surrounded by all these great musicians,

0:06:02 > 0:06:08South African jazz giants, Gwangwa, Hugh, Makete.

0:06:11 > 0:06:16THEY SING IN AFRICAN LANGUAGE

0:06:47 > 0:06:53I love this place and, besides being the political Mecca

0:06:53 > 0:06:58of South Africa, I mean, Mandela is here, was here.

0:06:58 > 0:07:03Here was the PAC, the president of the PAC.

0:07:04 > 0:07:10And Zulu up there. And Tutu down there.

0:07:11 > 0:07:15Most of the politicians come from this, Orlando West.

0:07:23 > 0:07:28This was like the Mecca, this was blacks only.

0:07:28 > 0:07:31They used to pack this place up.

0:07:31 > 0:07:35You know, where all the groups would perform The Manhattan Brothers,

0:07:35 > 0:07:40Miriam Makeba, Dolly Rathebe, The Skylarks, of course.

0:07:40 > 0:07:47ABIGAIL SINGS IN AFRICAN LANGUAGE

0:08:02 > 0:08:05CHEERING

0:08:16 > 0:08:19There used to be a very beautiful nightclub in Eloff Street

0:08:19 > 0:08:21in Johannesburg.

0:08:21 > 0:08:25I mean, exclusive, that was for the bourgeois, you know,

0:08:25 > 0:08:27the real McCoys of this town.

0:08:27 > 0:08:31Many people, you know, the hot and lot people.

0:08:31 > 0:08:34So we would go in and perform to these people.

0:08:34 > 0:08:41Through our kitchen doors, with their little, nice glitteries.

0:08:41 > 0:08:44And you'd go through this kitchen and onto the stage,

0:08:44 > 0:08:49finish your singing, through the same way, out you'd go.

0:08:49 > 0:08:53Back to the township or then we used to have friends,

0:08:53 > 0:08:56white friends, who used to invite us to their homes.

0:08:56 > 0:08:59You'd go into the car, then you'd squat down

0:08:59 > 0:09:04so that the policeman doesn't see the black woman in this car.

0:09:04 > 0:09:08Then, when you get to the house, they cover you up,

0:09:08 > 0:09:10you enter the house, the curtains are drawn,

0:09:10 > 0:09:17the music is played very low and the party goes on, you know.

0:09:17 > 0:09:22And if somebody reports it to the police and says,

0:09:22 > 0:09:24"I think there are some black girls in there."

0:09:24 > 0:09:26You quickly jump into somewhere

0:09:26 > 0:09:32and put on the uniform, you know, the apron and things like that.

0:09:32 > 0:09:36And then the people would say, "You mean, she... Oh, yeah, yeah.

0:09:36 > 0:09:40"She's, she's our servant, you know, she works here."

0:09:40 > 0:09:44And so that used to be the kind of life.

0:09:44 > 0:09:50I did a show called African Jazz And Variety and while doing this,

0:09:50 > 0:09:54we were performing at the Johannesburg City Hall,

0:09:54 > 0:10:00which was the first time that we were allowed to perform in the city

0:10:00 > 0:10:05and to white audiences as black Africans.

0:10:05 > 0:10:09While we were there, an American came to South Africa.

0:10:09 > 0:10:13His name was Lionel Rogosin, from New York.

0:10:13 > 0:10:18He came there to make a film. He wanted to a music travelogue.

0:10:18 > 0:10:21THE BAND PLAYS

0:10:23 > 0:10:29He would film certain things that showed

0:10:29 > 0:10:34the life of the African in South Africa, living under Apartheid

0:10:34 > 0:10:35which is segregation.

0:10:36 > 0:10:41And he smuggled those films out and he asked me to sing in this film.

0:10:41 > 0:10:44I sang two songs.

0:10:44 > 0:10:48SHE SINGS IN AFRICAN LANGUAGE

0:11:09 > 0:11:12CHEERING

0:11:12 > 0:11:17She left in early 1959 to go to the Venice Film Festival.

0:11:17 > 0:11:20The government didn't know, but as soon as that film won,

0:11:20 > 0:11:23Miriam was immediately banned.

0:11:23 > 0:11:28But her mother used to bring Bongi Lee

0:11:28 > 0:11:31to prepare for Bongi to go and join Miriam

0:11:31 > 0:11:35who was already in New York by then and had big success.

0:11:40 > 0:11:43This is Mofolo Village in Soweto.

0:11:45 > 0:11:49And this is the house where Miriam lived with her family.

0:11:49 > 0:11:54There was no wall, it was a four-roomed house like that one.

0:11:54 > 0:11:57It was an ordinary four-roomed house.

0:11:57 > 0:11:59I remember when I came when Miriam left,

0:11:59 > 0:12:04and then she sent for Bongi, we took her away to the airport.

0:12:06 > 0:12:08And her mother Christina was very sad.

0:12:09 > 0:12:12She was really affected by Bongi's,

0:12:12 > 0:12:15I mean, she was affected by Miriam's because, and especially,

0:12:15 > 0:12:19when she learnt that Miriam was never going to be allowed back

0:12:19 > 0:12:22into this country.

0:12:22 > 0:12:25# Goodbye, Mother

0:12:25 > 0:12:29# Goodbye, Father

0:12:29 > 0:12:37# And to you, my little baby

0:12:37 > 0:12:41# Goodbye

0:12:41 > 0:12:48# Until we meet again

0:12:48 > 0:12:52# Farewell, dear friends

0:12:52 > 0:12:56# I am leaving

0:12:56 > 0:13:03# May the good Lord Be with you all... #

0:13:03 > 0:13:05Miriam Makeba, of course I remember her.

0:13:05 > 0:13:12She played here December 1959.

0:13:12 > 0:13:13PHONE RINGS

0:13:13 > 0:13:17Ooh, le telefono. Can I answer the phone?

0:13:17 > 0:13:21Village Vanguard. Reser... For when?

0:13:21 > 0:13:26Next Sunday at nine o'clock, OK. May I have your last name?

0:13:27 > 0:13:30OK, thank you.

0:13:30 > 0:13:34December '59, she was here, for a couple of weeks.

0:13:34 > 0:13:38And then she came back in January 1960.

0:13:38 > 0:13:40Yes, she was here.

0:13:40 > 0:13:45For the first time, Miriam Makeba came to New York City,

0:13:45 > 0:13:46as far as I know.

0:13:46 > 0:13:51A man made the movie, Lionel Rogosin, called Come Back, Africa,

0:13:51 > 0:13:54which played in the neighbourhood.

0:13:54 > 0:13:57And it was a beautiful movie, we all saw it.

0:13:57 > 0:14:00But, in order for her to come to this country,

0:14:00 > 0:14:03she had to have a job and to work.

0:14:03 > 0:14:06And Lionel Rogosin came to my husband Max Gordon,

0:14:06 > 0:14:08who had the Vanguard.

0:14:08 > 0:14:12He said, "Would you like to give the room to Miriam Makeba

0:14:12 > 0:14:13"so she could perform."

0:14:13 > 0:14:17And my husband loved the movie, he said, "Oh, yes, absolutely."

0:14:17 > 0:14:20Miriam was a phenomenon. You know, the...

0:14:20 > 0:14:21SHE CLICKS

0:14:21 > 0:14:24And we were all doing clicking all night.

0:14:24 > 0:14:25CLICK CLICK

0:14:25 > 0:14:26Click away.

0:14:26 > 0:14:30And then, a gentleman came down, among others, to hear her,

0:14:30 > 0:14:32named Harry Belafonte.

0:14:32 > 0:14:35And he fell in love with her too.

0:14:35 > 0:14:40Well, Harry was much more powerful than we were.

0:14:40 > 0:14:45And so he whisked her away from Lionel Rogosin

0:14:45 > 0:14:48and my husband Max Gordon, took her away.

0:14:48 > 0:14:51If I were Miriam I would have gone with Harry.

0:14:51 > 0:14:56I mean, he had a whole tour arranged for her. He promoted her.

0:14:56 > 0:15:00It's his culture as well. He made a big thing out of that.

0:15:00 > 0:15:01PHONE RINGS

0:15:01 > 0:15:03Oh, pardonnez-moi.

0:15:03 > 0:15:08For the last three years, I have made two trips around the world.

0:15:08 > 0:15:11And, on both occasions, I was privileged to perform

0:15:11 > 0:15:13in most of the major capitals.

0:15:13 > 0:15:15While in these countries, I talked with

0:15:15 > 0:15:18and performed with many, many other artists.

0:15:18 > 0:15:22Some of them were wonderful, such as the artist you're about to see now,

0:15:22 > 0:15:26a young lady from South Africa, Miss Miriam Makeba.

0:15:26 > 0:15:28APPLAUSE

0:15:28 > 0:15:32MUSIC: "Love Tastes Like Strawberries"

0:15:39 > 0:15:45# I met my love in the market place

0:15:45 > 0:15:49# My heart stopped When I saw his face

0:15:49 > 0:15:54# The berry man cried Won't you try this?

0:15:54 > 0:15:59# We looked, we bought We stole a kiss

0:15:59 > 0:16:04# The berries are gone And the spring has passed

0:16:04 > 0:16:09# But I know my love will always last

0:16:09 > 0:16:14# The rain has come with sudden haste

0:16:14 > 0:16:19# Love's got a fresh strawberry taste

0:16:21 > 0:16:26# Hey, hey, hey-hey, yeah

0:16:26 > 0:16:30# Mmm, yeah, yeah, yeah, ye-ye-yeah

0:16:30 > 0:16:33# Mmm

0:16:33 > 0:16:39# Yeah, yeah-yeah, yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

0:16:39 > 0:16:42# Mmmm. #

0:16:42 > 0:16:45WHISTLING AND APPLAUSE

0:16:45 > 0:16:50She did a few records in America.

0:16:50 > 0:16:56And I actually asked if there was a possibility for her,

0:16:56 > 0:17:01to be able to feature with herself in America.

0:17:01 > 0:17:05But it was, it seemed, it was not going to be possible

0:17:05 > 0:17:09because Harry Belafonte and people like that were on the scene.

0:17:09 > 0:17:10And I was quite disappointed

0:17:10 > 0:17:14that even my dear Miriam had to allow that.

0:17:14 > 0:17:18Because I would have thought, you know, she would have insisted

0:17:18 > 0:17:23that, "These are the people I want, you know, to back me."

0:17:23 > 0:17:25But it was not possible.

0:17:25 > 0:17:32SINGS IN AFRICAN LANGUAGE

0:18:11 > 0:18:13The kind of people she surrounded herself with,

0:18:13 > 0:18:17such as Kwame Ture also known as Stokely Carmichael,

0:18:17 > 0:18:22Mr Harry Belafonte as well, er, they always gave her advice

0:18:22 > 0:18:27and they always said, "Never forget where you came from."

0:18:27 > 0:18:31You know, that was always something she always had engraved in her mind,

0:18:31 > 0:18:33to always remember where she was from.

0:18:33 > 0:18:35You know, my brother,

0:18:35 > 0:18:40there's no faster way you can send a message than a song.

0:18:41 > 0:18:44So Miriam spoke and Miriam sang

0:18:44 > 0:18:49about what was happening in this part of the world.

0:18:49 > 0:18:54And, really, in her little way, as the people think it was little,

0:18:54 > 0:18:59it was mighty because the people that heard her say these things

0:18:59 > 0:19:05began to want to know what is really happening around South Africa.

0:19:05 > 0:19:09Khawuleza is a South African song, it comes from the townships,

0:19:09 > 0:19:16locations, reservations, whichever, near the cities of South Africa.

0:19:16 > 0:19:19Where all the black South Africans live.

0:19:20 > 0:19:24The children shout from the streets as they see police cars coming

0:19:24 > 0:19:28to raid their homes for one thing or another.

0:19:28 > 0:19:33They say, "Khawuleza mama." Which simply means, "Hurry, Mama.

0:19:33 > 0:19:36"Please, please, don't let them catch you."

0:19:38 > 0:19:42# Khawuleza mama Khawuleza mam

0:19:42 > 0:19:46# Khawuleza mama Khawuleza mama

0:19:46 > 0:19:50# Khawulez mama She Shi Za Wo... #

0:19:50 > 0:19:53But there's one statement she always phrased.

0:19:53 > 0:19:58She always said, "I do not sing politics, I merely sing the truth."

0:19:58 > 0:20:01# Naa Gama Poyee Za Zu

0:20:01 > 0:20:06# Kelenene Mama Patti Khawuleza ma

0:20:06 > 0:20:13# Naa Gawa Poyee Za Zu Kelenene Mama Patti Khawuleza ma

0:20:13 > 0:20:19# Junga Junga Junga Yo Khawuleza mama eyayee mama

0:20:19 > 0:20:21# Khawuleza mama

0:20:21 > 0:20:26# Junga Junga Junga Yo Khawuleza mama eyayee mama

0:20:26 > 0:20:33# Khawuleza mama, Khawuleza mama Khawuleza mama

0:20:33 > 0:20:41# M Eyoy Khawuleza, Khawuleza mama Khawuleza mama, Khawuleza mama

0:20:41 > 0:20:46# M Eyoy, Khawuleza. #

0:20:50 > 0:20:53She was the first African artist ever

0:20:53 > 0:20:56that spoke at the United Nations.

0:20:56 > 0:20:58And asked for the boycott of South Africa.

0:20:59 > 0:21:03I mean, it took guts to do that in the '60s.

0:21:03 > 0:21:05The story of the shootings at Sharpeville

0:21:05 > 0:21:08is well-known throughout the world.

0:21:08 > 0:21:12Indeed, all men and women of good will all over the world

0:21:12 > 0:21:15raised their voices in anger on that occasion.

0:21:15 > 0:21:19But all these protests just fell on deaf ears.

0:21:20 > 0:21:25Since Sharpeville, many terrible things have occurred in my country.

0:21:25 > 0:21:28Our political parties were declared illegal

0:21:28 > 0:21:31and the leaders were forced to go underground.

0:21:31 > 0:21:37Some 5,000 people have, in recent months, been put behind prison bars.

0:21:37 > 0:21:41Among those who have been jailed and detained or restricted

0:21:41 > 0:21:45are many of our prominent leaders, which include

0:21:45 > 0:21:48Nelson Mandela, Mrs Lillian Ngoyi

0:21:48 > 0:21:50and, only last week, Mr Walter Sisulu.

0:21:50 > 0:21:54Indeed, Mr Chairman and distinguished members,

0:21:54 > 0:21:58my country has been turned into a huge prison.

0:21:58 > 0:22:01This, therefore, does not leave us with any option

0:22:01 > 0:22:05but to ask the United Nations to take positive action

0:22:05 > 0:22:08against the South African government,

0:22:08 > 0:22:11calling for a complete boycott on South Africa

0:22:11 > 0:22:17and, especially, the sending of arms by outside powers to South Africa.

0:22:17 > 0:22:19Thank you.

0:22:19 > 0:22:23She was pleading for humanity. She wasn't pleading for...

0:22:23 > 0:22:25She wasn't dividing, she was unifying.

0:22:25 > 0:22:29She was known as the flame of unity and cultural diversity.

0:22:29 > 0:22:33She read a speech which really damned

0:22:33 > 0:22:36the South African government even further.

0:22:36 > 0:22:39At that time, I think she felt much stronger about it

0:22:39 > 0:22:43because she couldn't come back to come and bury her mother

0:22:43 > 0:22:45who had died shortly after she'd left.

0:22:45 > 0:22:48My records, for instance, have been banned

0:22:48 > 0:22:52since 1962 in South Africa, they don't sell them anymore.

0:22:52 > 0:22:56People who have them just have to play them privately

0:22:56 > 0:23:01and hope that nobody, er, that shouldn't hear them, hears them.

0:23:01 > 0:23:03So then she was banned for the second time.

0:23:06 > 0:23:10MUSIC: "Mama Afrika" by Miriam Makeba

0:23:22 > 0:23:27When I came to New York, Bongi had just come, a few months before me

0:23:27 > 0:23:31and I was going to Manhattan School of Music,

0:23:31 > 0:23:35so I was living with Bongi because Miriam was on the road all the time.

0:23:35 > 0:23:37I think, to a certain extent,

0:23:37 > 0:23:38that's why our marriage didn't work,

0:23:38 > 0:23:42because we were more like brother and sister than...

0:23:42 > 0:23:43We were more like siblings.

0:23:43 > 0:23:46MUSIC: "Mama Afrika" by Miriam Makeba

0:23:59 > 0:24:03The next real big moment was the first time we went to Africa.

0:24:03 > 0:24:08We landed on the tarmac and when the door opened...

0:24:09 > 0:24:14and all this fresh smell of Africa came up at me.

0:24:14 > 0:24:18- Yeah. I remember that feeling. - That was such a dynamic thing.

0:24:20 > 0:24:23You know, I mean, if...

0:24:23 > 0:24:27That, that I just can't describe.

0:24:28 > 0:24:32I mean, we did quite a bit of this, you know, caravan.

0:24:34 > 0:24:36At one period, we got stuck in the mud.

0:24:36 > 0:24:40You know, we were going through this field,

0:24:40 > 0:24:43we were going through a field rather than just being on a road.

0:24:43 > 0:24:45But then, Africa's Africa,

0:24:45 > 0:24:47so the point is to get from here to there.

0:24:48 > 0:24:52And so we got stuck in the mud, but she was trying to help,

0:24:52 > 0:24:57she was trying to tell them how to do this.

0:25:00 > 0:25:04MUSIC: "Pata Pata" by Miriam Makeba

0:25:04 > 0:25:08# Saguquga sathi bega nantsi Pata Pata

0:25:08 > 0:25:11# Saguquga sathi bega nantsi Pata Pata

0:25:11 > 0:25:15# Saguquga sathi bega nantsi Pata Pata

0:25:15 > 0:25:19# Saguquga sathi bega nantsi Pata Pata

0:25:19 > 0:25:22# Hiyo mama hiyo ma nantsi Pata Pata

0:25:22 > 0:25:26# Hiyo mama hiyo ma nantsi Pata Pata

0:25:26 > 0:25:31# Hiyo mama hiyo ma nantsi Pata Pata

0:25:31 > 0:25:34# Hiyo mama hiyo ma nantsi Pata Pata

0:25:34 > 0:25:37# Saguquga sathi bega nantsi Pata Pata

0:25:37 > 0:25:41# Saguquga sathi bega nantsi Pata Pata

0:25:41 > 0:25:45# Saguquga sathi bega nantsi Pata Pata

0:25:45 > 0:25:49# Saguquga sathi bega nantsi Pata Pata...

0:25:49 > 0:25:57Pata Pata is the name of a dance we do down Johannesburg-way.

0:25:57 > 0:26:04And everybody starts to move as soon as Pata Pata starts to play.

0:26:04 > 0:26:07# Aya sat wuguga sat Pata Pata

0:26:07 > 0:26:11# Aya sat wuguga sat Pata Pata

0:26:11 > 0:26:14# Aya sat wuguga sat

0:26:14 > 0:26:18# Aya sat wuguga sat Oooh

0:26:18 > 0:26:22# Hiyo mama hiyo ma nantsi Pata Pata

0:26:22 > 0:26:25# Hiyo mama hiyo ma nantsi Pata Pata

0:26:25 > 0:26:28# Hiyo mama hiyo ma nantsi Pata Pata

0:26:28 > 0:26:32# Hiyo mama hiyo ma nantsi Pata Pata...

0:26:32 > 0:26:39Every Fridays and Saturday nights, it's Pata Pata time. Woo.

0:26:39 > 0:26:42The music keeps going all night long

0:26:42 > 0:26:45till the morning sun begins to shine. Hey!

0:26:45 > 0:26:49# Aya sat wuguga sat Wo-ho-o

0:26:49 > 0:26:52# Aya sat wuguga sat Wo-ho-o

0:26:52 > 0:26:55# Aya sat wuguga sat Wo-ho-o

0:26:55 > 0:26:59# Aya sat wuguga sat Wo-ho-o

0:26:59 > 0:27:03# Hiyo mama hiyo ma nantsi Pata Pata

0:27:03 > 0:27:06# Hiyo mama hiyo ma nantsi Pata Pata

0:27:06 > 0:27:09# Hiyo mama hiyo ma nantsi Pata Pata

0:27:09 > 0:27:15# Hiyo mama hiyo ma nantsi Pata Pata. #

0:27:17 > 0:27:19THEY SPEAK IN FRENCH

0:27:38 > 0:27:41..which has a deep meaning.

0:27:41 > 0:27:46I would have preferred another song to be popular than Pata Pata.

0:27:46 > 0:27:49But then people choose what they want, so...

0:27:49 > 0:27:51A lot of the places, especially in Africa, that we went to,

0:27:51 > 0:27:53she was treated like royalty.

0:27:53 > 0:27:57Well, that's true. That's true. And, actually she really was.

0:27:57 > 0:28:00You know, the streets were lined with people for miles

0:28:00 > 0:28:04and, periodically, we had to stop so she could greet people.

0:28:04 > 0:28:08And they also had presents for her.

0:28:08 > 0:28:09She went to Tanzania.

0:28:09 > 0:28:14And the president of Tanzania at that time, Julius Nyerere,

0:28:14 > 0:28:19was a believer in African people regaining the language

0:28:19 > 0:28:23and teaching the language in school with other languages.

0:28:24 > 0:28:26And the fact that Miriam always sung

0:28:26 > 0:28:30in so many different African languages pleased Mr Nyerere.

0:28:31 > 0:28:34She heard Malaika and she learnt it.

0:28:34 > 0:28:36And she recorded it.

0:28:38 > 0:28:42# Malaika

0:28:42 > 0:28:48# Nakupenda Malaika

0:28:48 > 0:28:52# Malaika

0:28:52 > 0:28:57# Nakupenda Malaika

0:28:57 > 0:29:02# Ningekuoa mali we

0:29:02 > 0:29:08# Ningekuoa dada

0:29:08 > 0:29:14# Nashindwa na mali sina we

0:29:14 > 0:29:18# Ningekuoa Malaika

0:29:18 > 0:29:24# Nashindwa na mali sina we

0:29:24 > 0:29:28# Ningekuoa Malaika. #

0:29:28 > 0:29:33- Bravo.- Thank you, sir. Merci. - Merci beaucoup.

0:29:33 > 0:29:36She went to all the camps, you know, in Morgoro,

0:29:36 > 0:29:41and in Zambia and in Tanzania. Erm.

0:29:41 > 0:29:44She'd find students all over the world.

0:29:44 > 0:29:45And whatever she'd earned in that country,

0:29:45 > 0:29:48she'd just, like, make sure that they were OK.

0:29:48 > 0:29:50All her life, she did that.

0:29:50 > 0:29:54I ask you, and all the leaders of the world,

0:29:54 > 0:29:59would you act differently, would you keep silent and do nothing,

0:29:59 > 0:30:01if you were in our place?

0:30:01 > 0:30:02Would you not resist

0:30:02 > 0:30:06if you are not allowed no rights in your own country

0:30:06 > 0:30:10because the colour of your skin is different to that of the rulers

0:30:10 > 0:30:14and if you're punished for even asking for equality?

0:30:14 > 0:30:19I appeal to you, and through you to all the countries of the world,

0:30:19 > 0:30:23to do everything you can to stop the coming tragedy.

0:30:23 > 0:30:26She was the glue between all the presidents,

0:30:26 > 0:30:28everybody just like idealised her.

0:30:28 > 0:30:33Sekou Toure of Guinea, Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya,

0:30:33 > 0:30:35Julius Nyerere of Tanzania,

0:30:35 > 0:30:39just being crazy about her.

0:30:39 > 0:30:42Houphouet-Boigny of Ivory Coast,

0:30:42 > 0:30:44Leopold Senghor of Senegal,

0:30:44 > 0:30:48these were all people who were just so close to her.

0:30:48 > 0:30:52I have never known anybody in history, or at any other time,

0:30:52 > 0:30:57who had such close ties with every African president.

0:30:57 > 0:31:00When you see an individual white boy,

0:31:00 > 0:31:03you're not afraid of that individual white boy.

0:31:03 > 0:31:08What you are afraid of is the power that he represents!

0:31:08 > 0:31:11Because, behind him stands the local police force,

0:31:11 > 0:31:16the state militia, the Army, the Navy, the air force!

0:31:16 > 0:31:17CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

0:31:19 > 0:31:24When you see an African, there is no power behind him.

0:31:24 > 0:31:28There is no-one speaking for his interest.

0:31:28 > 0:31:31There is no one to protect him.

0:31:31 > 0:31:32APPLAUSE

0:31:32 > 0:31:35Stokely Carmichael, was a very bright student from New York.

0:31:35 > 0:31:37His family came from the Caribbean.

0:31:37 > 0:31:40He went to Howard University,

0:31:40 > 0:31:44which is a prestigious black university in Washington DC.

0:31:44 > 0:31:50He went there in 1960, a year in which tremendous political focus

0:31:50 > 0:31:53was on Africa, on independence of African countries.

0:31:53 > 0:31:56After King's assassination and Malcolm's assassination,

0:31:56 > 0:32:00Stokely became sort of the firebrand black leader.

0:32:00 > 0:32:04At some point in the visit to Guinea,

0:32:04 > 0:32:08maybe a subsequent visit, I'm not sure, Miriam and Stokely met,

0:32:08 > 0:32:10when Miriam was there as a guest of

0:32:10 > 0:32:14Sekou Toure, the president.

0:32:14 > 0:32:16We want black power.

0:32:16 > 0:32:19We want black power.

0:32:19 > 0:32:21We want black power.

0:32:21 > 0:32:22We want black power.

0:32:22 > 0:32:25We want black power.

0:32:25 > 0:32:27We want black power.

0:32:27 > 0:32:28We want black power.

0:32:28 > 0:32:31Stokely was extraordinarily charming.

0:32:31 > 0:32:36Very, very articulate, had a wonderful, amazing smile

0:32:36 > 0:32:40and lots of humour

0:32:40 > 0:32:42and is very incisive.

0:32:44 > 0:32:46Many people didn't agree with him

0:32:46 > 0:32:49but, I think, it would be hard to find many people don't like him.

0:32:49 > 0:32:53The Caribbean is full of black people

0:32:53 > 0:32:57and our mother continent, Africa, there is to be found millions

0:32:57 > 0:33:00and millions and millions and millions of black people.

0:33:00 > 0:33:05Black power means all of these millions and millions

0:33:05 > 0:33:07and millions and millions

0:33:07 > 0:33:13and millions of black people coming together to form black power.

0:33:16 > 0:33:19The entire mass media of America,

0:33:19 > 0:33:23the entire mass media of America came against Nick and against black power.

0:33:23 > 0:33:26They did every possible thing to destroy the concept

0:33:26 > 0:33:27and were incapable of doing it.

0:33:33 > 0:33:35We're not going to win this struggle today.

0:33:35 > 0:33:37We're not going to win it tomorrow. This is a struggle,

0:33:37 > 0:33:39this is a long struggle.

0:33:39 > 0:33:42We're fighting a struggle that has been taking place for 500 years

0:33:42 > 0:33:44and even way beyond that.

0:33:44 > 0:33:46We're just a small part of that struggle.

0:33:53 > 0:33:56We have to find what our mission is,

0:33:56 > 0:33:59what the mission of this generation is and do that and do it perfect,

0:33:59 > 0:34:02properly, correctly, thoroughly and completely.

0:34:15 > 0:34:18There is nothing, nothing we cannot do.

0:34:18 > 0:34:20All we got to do is what honourable Marcus Garvey said,

0:34:20 > 0:34:22"Heat up, and do it!"

0:34:22 > 0:34:24Well, mighty race up now, you're a mighty race.

0:35:07 > 0:35:11The day after, the day after they were married,

0:35:11 > 0:35:12which is your honeymoon.

0:35:12 > 0:35:14This is the time to be celebrating.

0:35:14 > 0:35:18The day after, she discovered

0:35:18 > 0:35:23that all her concert dates in the United States had been cancelled.

0:35:23 > 0:35:25I remember being in a car with Stokely

0:35:25 > 0:35:29and he phoned up to the FBI and said,

0:35:29 > 0:35:34"I'm leaving now, I'll be back at such and such a time."

0:35:34 > 0:35:39They were always right there, where they lived.

0:35:39 > 0:35:40We have problems everywhere.

0:35:40 > 0:35:44Sometimes people send us threatening letters

0:35:44 > 0:35:50and some send very vulgar letters and tell us to get out of here.

0:35:50 > 0:35:53We're always, there's nowhere to run.

0:35:54 > 0:36:00We just have to stay wherever we are and fight to liberate ourselves.

0:36:15 > 0:36:19Some people here say you've lost something of your popularity

0:36:19 > 0:36:20back in the United States.

0:36:20 > 0:36:24They don't buy your records so much as before. Would do you say to that?

0:36:24 > 0:36:28- That's not true. - That's not true?- No.

0:36:30 > 0:36:32I wouldn't say I've lost my popularity.

0:36:34 > 0:36:40There is a boycott on my records on the part of radio stations

0:36:40 > 0:36:45but I don't think I'll ever lose my popularity with the people.

0:36:45 > 0:36:47Why this boycott?

0:36:47 > 0:36:50I don't know, they all give different reasons.

0:36:50 > 0:36:53- Is that because of your marriage to Stokely Carmichael?- Yes.

0:36:53 > 0:36:59And you, Mr Carmichael, what are you going to do?

0:36:59 > 0:37:00I'm just going to be with my wife.

0:37:00 > 0:37:03Have you plans for any activity of such?

0:37:03 > 0:37:05No, I'm just going to look and listen.

0:37:05 > 0:37:08The greatest paradox of Miriam's life, for me,

0:37:08 > 0:37:10is that she was very close to Golda Meir,

0:37:10 > 0:37:15who was crazy about her until 1967, when she was married to Stokely,

0:37:15 > 0:37:18and he said something about Israel.

0:37:18 > 0:37:20The next day you couldn't find her records in the stores

0:37:20 > 0:37:24and she was just iced in the States and, I think,

0:37:24 > 0:37:28that very week she just, you know,

0:37:28 > 0:37:32Sekou Toure just said, "Hey, you have a home in Guinea."

0:37:32 > 0:37:34That's when she went to Guinea.

0:37:53 > 0:37:56Because Stokely was so outspoken,

0:37:56 > 0:38:00a lot of people, at that time, cancelled my shows,

0:38:00 > 0:38:04saying they can't feed the hand that bites them.

0:38:04 > 0:38:08So I left and went to Guinea with Stokely.

0:38:08 > 0:38:10We were married for ten years.

0:38:15 > 0:38:19He was doing the Pan African movement and the one common goal

0:38:19 > 0:38:21was what they had together during that era.

0:38:21 > 0:38:23She felt she was part of that

0:38:23 > 0:38:26and she was a soldier in any aspect,

0:38:26 > 0:38:30in terms of transferring the message of unity,

0:38:30 > 0:38:33Africa and just many other aspects of the continent.

0:38:33 > 0:38:35She was always there.

0:38:35 > 0:38:36HE SPEAKS IN FRENCH

0:38:43 > 0:38:44HE SPEAKS IN FRENCH

0:39:23 > 0:39:26Our next artist is one of the most magnificent talents of our time

0:39:26 > 0:39:29and I take pleasure in introducing to you,

0:39:29 > 0:39:31sister Miriam Makeba Carmichael.

0:39:31 > 0:39:34APPLAUSE

0:39:34 > 0:39:36Probably everybody wants to know how Stokely is?

0:39:36 > 0:39:38LAUGHTER

0:39:39 > 0:39:40He is well.

0:39:40 > 0:39:44He is alive and well in Conakry.

0:39:44 > 0:39:46Do you see any difference in the way that this government,

0:39:46 > 0:39:48I say dealing with the government,

0:39:48 > 0:39:51the way this government approaches you as a black African coming here

0:39:51 > 0:39:55and the way that the South African government is approaching

0:39:55 > 0:39:59black entertainers. Do you see any similarities, any differences?

0:39:59 > 0:40:02I always say the only difference between South Africa

0:40:02 > 0:40:04and America is very slight.

0:40:05 > 0:40:07Erm...

0:40:07 > 0:40:13And that is South Africa admits that they are what they are.

0:40:13 > 0:40:15APPLAUSE

0:40:21 > 0:40:26In a way you know who to deal with.

0:40:26 > 0:40:29So, you don't have to be guessing.

0:40:29 > 0:40:31You have a couple of children?

0:40:31 > 0:40:35I have one child, she is 20 and she has two children.

0:40:35 > 0:40:37- Her name is Bongi.- Wow!

0:40:37 > 0:40:39She writes some of my songs.

0:40:39 > 0:40:41APPLAUSE

0:40:41 > 0:40:43- That's marvellous. - She writes some of my songs.

0:40:43 > 0:40:46She has a little boy whom she named Lumumba

0:40:46 > 0:40:48and she wrote a song about him

0:40:48 > 0:40:51and now she has a little girl whom she's named after me.

0:40:51 > 0:40:53- She called the little girl, Zenzi. - Oh, wow!

0:40:53 > 0:40:55That's my closer name.

0:40:58 > 0:41:02You know, it's been almost 24 years, I've not been here.

0:41:02 > 0:41:08Conakry will always remain as home to myself and my sister, Zenzi.

0:41:08 > 0:41:12Our mother was buried here and my brother was buried here,

0:41:12 > 0:41:16and the late great, Kwame Toure also known as Stokely Carmichael.

0:41:16 > 0:41:19It's the hospitality of the people,

0:41:19 > 0:41:21as I said, I will cherish that for the rest of my life.

0:41:21 > 0:41:24It wasn't about the outlook of what the place looked like,

0:41:24 > 0:41:27not the superficial look and all of that.

0:41:27 > 0:41:31It was basically about true human relation,

0:41:31 > 0:41:34brotherhood, sisterhood, etc.

0:41:34 > 0:41:37We used to run around barefoot, you know.

0:41:37 > 0:41:41Somehow I feel that that energy went into our feet, you know,

0:41:41 > 0:41:43and it always had us coming back here.

0:41:43 > 0:41:45We just kept coming back, coming back

0:41:45 > 0:41:48and to my grandmother, as well,

0:41:48 > 0:41:52being so far away from home over 32 years,

0:41:52 > 0:41:56there was no other place that she could call home but this place.

0:43:32 > 0:43:35# Igqira lendlela

0:43:35 > 0:43:38# Nguqo ngqothwane

0:43:38 > 0:43:41# Igqira lendlela

0:43:41 > 0:43:43# Nguqo ngqothwane

0:43:43 > 0:43:45# Igqira lendlela... #

0:43:45 > 0:43:49When the late great Ahmed Sekou Toure

0:43:49 > 0:43:52asked Mama Miriam Makeba,

0:43:52 > 0:43:56"Out of Guinea what region would you like to have a house?

0:43:56 > 0:43:59"Where do you feel mostly at home?" She mentioned Dalaba.

0:45:15 > 0:45:19This were the first people who had welcomed Mama.

0:45:19 > 0:45:21Hospitality...

0:45:21 > 0:45:25They used to be at the house. You know, this was back in the '70s.

0:45:25 > 0:45:29There is a particular sight that you see of the landscape,

0:45:29 > 0:45:32which looks extremely similar to South Africa.

0:45:32 > 0:45:35We would always go round this mountain.

0:45:35 > 0:45:39She would always say, "I miss home so much. This reminds me so much of home."

0:45:41 > 0:45:42CHILDREN SING

0:46:13 > 0:46:16This is the master room.

0:46:16 > 0:46:21There's a picture of my mother,

0:46:21 > 0:46:25who passed on on March 17, 1985.

0:46:25 > 0:46:28Very young. She was only 35-years-old.

0:46:32 > 0:46:36This is where the porch was, and it's still here.

0:46:36 > 0:46:39This is where the musicians would rehearse.

0:46:39 > 0:46:41She would sing and sing.

0:46:42 > 0:46:44SHE SINGS

0:47:36 > 0:47:39My grandmother telling me that, "There's nothing special about me,

0:47:39 > 0:47:42"I just love what I do and I do what I do.

0:47:42 > 0:47:45"I do it for a bigger cause, for a bigger purpose."

0:47:45 > 0:47:49She loved happiness, she used to have parties.

0:47:49 > 0:47:52Just everybody she loved to have get-togethers.

0:47:52 > 0:47:54You could never come to my grandmother's house

0:47:54 > 0:47:57and there's not food. She taught me that too.

0:47:57 > 0:48:00She said, "Zenzi, when you cook, even if you're broke,

0:48:00 > 0:48:04"you must always have food. When you have food, even if it's just a little piece of food,

0:48:04 > 0:48:07"or one piece of bread, when people come to visit you,

0:48:07 > 0:48:09"you must always have a piece for somebody."

0:49:43 > 0:49:47This is a song that was written by my little girl.

0:49:47 > 0:49:53It was in Mozambique that I first heard the words in Portuguese

0:49:53 > 0:49:56"A Luta Continua."

0:49:56 > 0:49:59When I came back I told Bongi all what I saw.

0:49:59 > 0:50:02I said, "Write me a song." She wrote this song.

0:50:02 > 0:50:05We have the habit of dedicating it to the people of Mozambique

0:50:05 > 0:50:08and to the party, FRELIMO,

0:50:08 > 0:50:12and to the beloved, Samora Machel.

0:50:16 > 0:50:19# Maputo, Maputo

0:50:19 > 0:50:20# Home of the brave

0:50:20 > 0:50:25# Our nation will soon be as one

0:50:25 > 0:50:28# Frelimo, Frelimo, Samora Machel

0:50:28 > 0:50:33# Samora Machal has won... #

0:50:41 > 0:50:44She wrote some of Miriam's biggest songs.

0:50:44 > 0:50:48You know, Quit It, Mozambique,

0:50:48 > 0:50:51A Luta Continua, West wind.

0:51:26 > 0:51:27We are supposed to be four.

0:51:27 > 0:51:32My two other brothers passed away, so they are buried in Guinea.

0:51:42 > 0:51:46Nobody knows what he put in his mouth. What happened to him.

0:51:48 > 0:51:53And she had to help that boy, running around to ask for help

0:51:53 > 0:51:54and the boy was already dead.

0:51:54 > 0:51:58And she is the one that have to tell her daughter, "Your son die."

0:52:10 > 0:52:12I mean when you're a grandmother,

0:52:12 > 0:52:15you're not supposed to bury your grandson.

0:52:15 > 0:52:19You're not even supposed to bury your own child when you are a mother.

0:52:32 > 0:52:35The day she passed away, when I heard she passed away,

0:52:35 > 0:52:37I cried like a little baby.

0:52:37 > 0:52:42But, erm, she was just an amazing talent.

0:52:42 > 0:52:45A talent that was never got to be known.

0:52:46 > 0:52:48Everything was sudden.

0:52:48 > 0:52:51It took a long time for them to acknowledge to us

0:52:51 > 0:52:54that she had passed because we were quite young, we were kids,

0:52:54 > 0:52:58and I think they didn't want to let us know during our trip,

0:52:58 > 0:53:00coming out here, that she had passed.

0:53:00 > 0:53:03I remember suppressing my feelings.

0:53:03 > 0:53:08I remember getting to America to go and see my dad

0:53:08 > 0:53:13because my dad called for us, when my mum passed away.

0:53:13 > 0:53:18I remember only a year later, like nine months later,

0:53:18 > 0:53:21finally crying cos my mum passed away.

0:53:21 > 0:53:23My dad came and found me crying in a closet.

0:53:23 > 0:53:26It was hard. It was hard for any mother.

0:53:26 > 0:53:30It was one of the greatest tragedies, I think, of her life.

0:53:30 > 0:53:37I think, she never was really the same after that. She was stunned.

0:53:37 > 0:53:41We were quite close, we had nobody else out here.

0:53:42 > 0:53:44She had me, I had her.

0:53:46 > 0:53:50# Three flights up in the rear

0:53:50 > 0:53:56# To where my childhood days were spent

0:53:58 > 0:54:01# It wasn't much like paradise

0:54:01 > 0:54:05# but amid the dirt... #

0:54:05 > 0:54:07She was the grandmother that came in New York,

0:54:07 > 0:54:10when I was a little kid.

0:54:10 > 0:54:13I'd pack my bags to want to leave and go off with her.

0:54:13 > 0:54:15She spoiled me as a grandmother.

0:54:15 > 0:54:17You know, but at the same time, she realised my mother

0:54:17 > 0:54:20was no longer there and she was taking a role,

0:54:20 > 0:54:23a double kind of role.

0:54:23 > 0:54:29# Oh

0:54:29 > 0:54:33# My wonderful mamma... '

0:54:33 > 0:54:36Music is a healing. She talked to me about that.

0:54:36 > 0:54:40As you know, my great-grandmother, her mother was a Sangoma.

0:54:40 > 0:54:43My grandmother was also a Sangoma.

0:54:43 > 0:54:45My mother was a Sangoma.

0:54:45 > 0:54:49I have the same thing, that's what I've been told,

0:54:49 > 0:54:52by the family, by her.

0:54:52 > 0:54:55Sangoma, is Ingoma, as well, it's a song.

0:54:55 > 0:54:59You know, they sometimes say, you don't have to be...

0:54:59 > 0:55:05You become a healer and do something else, but healing people.

0:55:05 > 0:55:10So Miriam was a healer through her music.

0:55:10 > 0:55:12Not through herbs, like her mother was.

0:55:12 > 0:55:16Her mother did it with herbs and she did it with her music.

0:57:36 > 0:57:41So when my record company posted me to Brussels to go and work there,

0:57:41 > 0:57:43I suddenly heard that she was in town.

0:57:45 > 0:57:47I was so happy, that, you know.

0:57:47 > 0:57:50And she came to the studios to see us work

0:57:50 > 0:57:53and I had some of my colleagues from South Africa.

0:57:55 > 0:57:59Every day, without fail, she would bring us food to the studio.

0:58:00 > 0:58:02Or, she would invite us to her place.

0:58:02 > 0:58:05She's a person that went through a lot of pain,

0:58:05 > 0:58:08but, jeez, when she took that microphone and she's on stage,

0:58:08 > 0:58:10the pain is gone.

0:58:10 > 0:58:16The pain is gone, and all she does is to just give to people

0:58:16 > 0:58:19and that it is the thing that,

0:58:19 > 0:58:22for me, is the essence of Miriam Makeba.

0:58:22 > 0:58:26In 1959 she began a world tour.

0:58:26 > 0:58:31And when she attempted to return home one year later

0:58:31 > 0:58:33she was refused re-admittance.

0:58:33 > 0:58:37She has been a political exile now for 27 years.

0:58:37 > 0:58:39Miriam Makeba.

0:58:48 > 0:58:53# There was a full moon on the golden city

0:58:53 > 0:59:00# Knocking at the door was the man without pity

0:59:00 > 0:59:05# Accusing everyone of conspiracy

0:59:05 > 0:59:09# Tightening the curfew charging people with walking

0:59:09 > 0:59:15# Yes, the border is where he was waiting

0:59:15 > 0:59:20# Waiting for the children frightened and running

0:59:22 > 0:59:26# A handful got away, but all the others

0:59:26 > 0:59:31# Are in the jail without any publicity

0:59:31 > 0:59:36# Just a little atrocity

0:59:38 > 0:59:43# Deep in the city

0:59:43 > 0:59:46# Soweto blues

0:59:48 > 0:59:51# Soweto blues

0:59:54 > 0:59:57# Soweto blues

0:59:59 > 1:00:04# Soweto blues

1:00:08 > 1:00:12# They are killing all the children

1:00:12 > 1:00:18- # Without any publicity - Soweto blues

1:00:18 > 1:00:22# Well, they are finishing the nation

1:00:22 > 1:00:24# Soweto blues

1:00:24 > 1:00:28# While calling it black on black

1:00:32 > 1:00:36# Momma, Soweto blues

1:00:36 > 1:00:38# Yeah, Momma

1:00:38 > 1:00:45# Soweto blues. #

1:00:46 > 1:00:51I wish to live in my country as a human being.

1:00:52 > 1:00:57Free...of all the ugliness we have gone through.

1:00:57 > 1:01:01I remember coming back home,

1:01:01 > 1:01:05she and Hugh took me to the airport.

1:01:05 > 1:01:08The first thing she said to me,

1:01:08 > 1:01:10do I ever think she's ever going to come home.

1:01:12 > 1:01:18It was one of those most poignant moments and very painful.

1:01:18 > 1:01:20I remember that vividly.

1:01:20 > 1:01:24There we were at the airport, she was staying behind,

1:01:24 > 1:01:29I was going back home, and Hugh Masekela was going to New York.

1:01:29 > 1:01:33I stood there alone, I was almost in tears because I knew that

1:01:33 > 1:01:39if they had wished to, if they could, we could all fly back home.

1:01:39 > 1:01:41And I said, "Soon."

1:01:41 > 1:01:43'I like that song'

1:01:43 > 1:01:46that you sing that goes, promise...

1:01:46 > 1:01:50# It is a promise I'm making to you

1:01:50 > 1:01:56# It's a promise I promise to keep this day

1:01:58 > 1:02:03# Be my lover, be my darling... # What else is it?

1:02:03 > 1:02:08# Love should never ever be far away

1:02:08 > 1:02:12- BOTH:- # Come and give me your love

1:02:12 > 1:02:15# That you are hiding. #

1:02:16 > 1:02:20# Come and give me your love

1:02:20 > 1:02:22# That you're hiding

1:02:22 > 1:02:30# I will keep it burning for ever... #

1:02:34 > 1:02:41The only thing that makes me to be able to go on living

1:02:41 > 1:02:47with this pain that I feel from being away from my home

1:02:47 > 1:02:55is the fact that I know I will go home someday soon.

1:02:55 > 1:03:00# ..I will never leave you, ever

1:03:02 > 1:03:07# We should always be together

1:03:07 > 1:03:10# Until the end... #

1:03:10 > 1:03:14There have been promises, and we hope they'll be realised.

1:03:14 > 1:03:19I often say that I don't know why I was banned,

1:03:19 > 1:03:23I don't see why I should be told what to do

1:03:23 > 1:03:25after all these years.

1:03:25 > 1:03:30As our leader Nelson Mandela said,

1:03:30 > 1:03:33He will not be released from his prison

1:03:33 > 1:03:36while his people are still in prison.

1:03:38 > 1:03:43And then we heard this noise. And screaming, cars hooting.

1:03:43 > 1:03:48People ululating and then we said, "Oh, my God, another June '76.

1:03:48 > 1:03:51And then we ran to the security guy

1:03:51 > 1:03:56to make sure that the doors are locked, you know?

1:03:56 > 1:03:59And said, "Do you know what is happening outside?"

1:03:59 > 1:04:04He said, "No, Mandela has been released today."

1:04:04 > 1:04:09I have always wanted to come home, of course I couldn't.

1:04:09 > 1:04:14But when President Mandela was released,

1:04:14 > 1:04:19the whole world was waving in front of their televisions.

1:04:19 > 1:04:21And I was one of them.

1:04:21 > 1:04:27I was in Brussels when I saw him walk out of there.

1:04:27 > 1:04:32I can't tell you how it felt. I just went on my knees.

1:04:32 > 1:04:34And I prayed.

1:04:41 > 1:04:45He then talked to me, and said, "You should come home."

1:04:45 > 1:04:48SHE ULULATES

1:05:10 > 1:05:13I don't have much of a family left.

1:05:13 > 1:05:18My mother and my father died, but I have my brother.

1:05:18 > 1:05:21He is my mother's first child. I am my mother's last child.

1:05:21 > 1:05:25The in-between have also died in my absence.

1:05:44 > 1:05:47When I came home for the first time I went straight

1:05:47 > 1:05:52to my mother's grave and I sat on it and I talked to her.

1:05:52 > 1:05:55I felt like I was sitting on my mother's lap.

1:05:55 > 1:06:00And I talked to her and I told her how sorry I was that

1:06:00 > 1:06:04I was not here to see her to her resting place.

1:06:04 > 1:06:07And I felt very good.

1:06:07 > 1:06:11It was the beginning of the healing of that wound.

1:06:15 > 1:06:17THEY SING

1:06:27 > 1:06:30SHE ULULATES

1:06:41 > 1:06:43SHE SINGS

1:07:09 > 1:07:14The public, the place goes wild when she went on stage.

1:07:14 > 1:07:17I'm like, that's what I'm talking about.

1:07:17 > 1:07:19And that is Miriam.

1:07:19 > 1:07:24People in South Africa started to discover Miriam when she came back.

1:07:24 > 1:07:29CHEERING

1:07:29 > 1:07:33The exile have cut her from her people for so long.

1:07:34 > 1:07:38But when she start singing, people know the song.

1:07:38 > 1:07:41It is just like people you haven't seen for a while,

1:07:41 > 1:07:45then you see each other and boom, the bond is still there.

1:07:45 > 1:07:49# Mother Africa

1:07:49 > 1:07:51# Unify us

1:07:51 > 1:07:55# My precious Africa

1:07:55 > 1:07:57# Unify us

1:07:57 > 1:07:59# Don't divide us

1:08:01 > 1:08:03# Unify us

1:08:03 > 1:08:06# Don't divide us

1:08:06 > 1:08:09# Unify us

1:08:09 > 1:08:11# Don't divide us

1:08:11 > 1:08:14# Don't divide us

1:08:14 > 1:08:16# Don't divide us

1:08:16 > 1:08:18# Don't divide us

1:08:18 > 1:08:22# Unify us

1:08:22 > 1:08:26# Don't divide us, don't divide us

1:08:26 > 1:08:29# Unify us

1:08:29 > 1:08:32# Don't divide us, unify us

1:08:32 > 1:08:35# Don't divide us, unify us

1:08:35 > 1:08:38# Don't divide us, don't divide us

1:08:38 > 1:08:39# Unify us

1:08:39 > 1:08:41# Unify us

1:08:41 > 1:08:44# Don't divide us, don't divide us

1:08:44 > 1:08:47# Unify us, unify us

1:08:47 > 1:08:50# Don't divide us, unify us

1:08:50 > 1:08:53# Don't divide us, unify us

1:08:53 > 1:08:56# Don't divide us, unify us

1:08:56 > 1:09:01# Don't divide us, unify us

1:09:01 > 1:09:04# Unify us, don't divide us

1:09:04 > 1:09:07# Don't divide us, unify us

1:09:07 > 1:09:12# Don't divide us, unify us... #

1:09:12 > 1:09:16But she had so much faith in the future of Africa

1:09:16 > 1:09:22that when we came back to South Africa,

1:09:22 > 1:09:27I didn't think that she was given the status that she deserved.

1:09:27 > 1:09:32All the other African presidents were gone.

1:09:32 > 1:09:35They were all gone that she knew.

1:09:35 > 1:09:40The new ones were neo-Colonial, most of them,

1:09:40 > 1:09:45and guardians of Western or Eastern interests.

1:09:49 > 1:09:51But I think it broke her heart.

1:09:51 > 1:09:56I think sometimes, somewhere, she realised that the African unity

1:09:56 > 1:09:59that she had prayed for and sacrificed so much for

1:09:59 > 1:10:03was not going to happen.

1:10:03 > 1:10:07I feel that she's here, the pain doesn't go away,

1:10:07 > 1:10:10but every day it gets easier.

1:10:10 > 1:10:14I was angry cos I was supposed to be with her in Italy.

1:10:14 > 1:10:17Immediately when I was supposed to get into the car to go with her,

1:10:17 > 1:10:19there were people there she was like,

1:10:19 > 1:10:21"No, Zenzi, I don't think you should go.

1:10:21 > 1:10:22"I think you should stay."

1:10:22 > 1:10:26She took Kwame, he was six months, she spoke to him

1:10:26 > 1:10:28and then she gave me back the baby.

1:10:28 > 1:10:31I give the baby to one of my little cousins, and she said,

1:10:31 > 1:10:33"I need to talk to you."

1:10:33 > 1:10:35She was already in the car and she said,

1:10:35 > 1:10:38"I just want to let you know I love you very, very much.

1:10:38 > 1:10:41"And I want you to know you need to be strong,

1:10:41 > 1:10:43"you need to take care of my home."

1:10:43 > 1:10:46And when she meant home, it's not material,

1:10:46 > 1:10:50it is not about material things, home means, I understand it even now,

1:10:50 > 1:10:54home means what everyone is going through for these past years.

1:10:54 > 1:10:55It means everything.

1:10:55 > 1:10:59I want you to make sure you take care of her legacy.

1:11:04 > 1:11:08I will never forget the way she was smiling at us.

1:11:08 > 1:11:12- When she turned around, you know? - Yeah, yes.

1:11:12 > 1:11:16She turns around and looks at the band, she was smiling,

1:11:16 > 1:11:19like, in a way she was telling us, I love you.

1:11:19 > 1:11:23The audience were saying, "Miriam, Miriam, Miriam."

1:11:23 > 1:11:26And then she said, "Are we bowing?"

1:11:26 > 1:11:29I said, "No, no, no. My children have to go tonight.

1:11:29 > 1:11:34"We're not bowing." And then she left.

1:11:35 > 1:11:41Just a couple of metres, she collapsed. And that was it.

1:11:45 > 1:11:51My grandmother strictly said to me, "Zenzi, I do not want to be buried.

1:11:51 > 1:11:55"I want to be cremated, and not for any religious reason

1:11:55 > 1:11:58"and you must put me where the two oceans meet."

1:11:58 > 1:11:59She always said it.

1:11:59 > 1:12:03She said she wants to find her daughter, my mother.

1:12:03 > 1:12:07And she wants to also be able to find all the other people,

1:12:07 > 1:12:11all over the world that she met during her years of exile.

1:12:11 > 1:12:15That's why she was cremated and put into the ocean, she wanted to flow.

1:12:18 > 1:12:20# I shall sing

1:12:20 > 1:12:22# Sing my song

1:12:22 > 1:12:25# Make it right if it is wrong

1:12:25 > 1:12:30# In the night, in the day

1:12:30 > 1:12:32# Anyhow and anyway

1:12:32 > 1:12:35# I shall sing, Lord.

1:12:35 > 1:12:37# La la la la la la la la la

1:12:37 > 1:12:39# La la la la la la la la la

1:12:39 > 1:12:41# La la la la la la la la la

1:12:41 > 1:12:43# La la la la la la la la la

1:12:43 > 1:12:45# La la la la la la la la la

1:12:45 > 1:12:46# La la la la la la la la la

1:12:46 > 1:12:48# La la la la la la la la la... #

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