Thirteen years have flown by since the passing of music icon Zenzile Miriam Makeba.
In the wake of her birth month, Briefly.co.za profiles the life and times of theAfrican legend.
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Makeba was birthed by a Swati mother, Christina Makeba and a Xhosa father, Caswell Makeba.
A few days after birth, Miriams mother was arrested for selling homemade beer.
Miriam Makeba is known as a music legend and struggle icon in South Africa. Image: Miriam Makeba FoundationSource: Instagram
Makeba enjoyed singing from a young age.
The family moved to the Transvaal when Makeba was a child.
She was forced to work as a nanny due to their financial situation.
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Her mother worked for white families in Johannesburg and would be away for weeks.
The young Makeba and her five siblings lived with her grandmother for a while in Pretoria.
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The couple had a child named Bongi Makeba in 1950.
Their marriage lasted only two years.
Thereafter, Makeba joined a jazz group called the Manhattan Brothers.
Miriam Makeba landed a cameo on a US movie that threw her into the international limelight. Image: Miriam Makeba FoundationSource: Instagram
Makeba was the only woman in the group.
They recorded her first hit,Laku Tshoni Ilanga, in 1953.
Makeba moved on in 1956 and joined a new all-woman group, the Skylarks.
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The group became highly successful.
Makeba received no royalties from her work with the Skylarks.
While performing with the Manhattan Brothers in 1955, Makeba met NelsonMandela, then a young lawyer.
Miriam Makeba enjoyed performing even she she got older. Image: ALEXANDER JOE/AFP (via Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
Mandela later recalled the meeting and said that he knew Makeba would make it big.
The song became the first South African track to make it on the United States Billboard Top 100.
In London she met the American singer Harry Belafonte, who became her mentor.
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Exile
Soon after the Sharpeville massacre in 1960, Makeba found out that her mother had died.
Makeba tried to return home for the funeral, but discovered that her South African passport had been cancelled.
Two of the artist’s family members passed away during the massacre.
Mandi Vundla wrote a beautiful poem for Mama Africa. Image: SuppliedSource: UGC
Her musical career in the US continued to flourish.
She married him from 1963 to 1968.
It was during this period that the name Mama Africa was born.
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The woman not only represented South Africans on stage, but also the rest of the African continent.
Illness and death
On 9 November 2008, Makeba fell ill during a concert in Italy.
In the presentation, Vundla is dressed and styled as Miriam and together with a dancer and a vocalist.
The poet claims to have been possessed by Makebas creative energy.
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She has worked at Independent Media and 1KZNTV and has contributed columns to the Washington Post.
Passed a set of trainings by Google News Initiative.
