Help celebrate Hugh Masekela’s legacy

THOUGH the funeral of jazz legend Hugh Masekela will be closed to the public and the media, his family announced a series of events to celebrate his life.

Masekela lost his long battle against prostate cancer on Tuesday. He was 78, and a worldwide celebrated composer, trumpeter, and activist.

Masekela’s son, Selema “Sal” Masekela, thanked the public for showing support to his family during their time of grief, saying that they had been strengthened by tributes and messages of condolences coming in from around the world.

“We have been completely blown away by the manner in which people from all over the world have expressed themselves, the manner in which my father’s music touched them and how he made a difference in their lives. Every day that we turn on the TV, the radio or computer, we are blown away, and it has given my family an immense amount of strength,” Sal said.

“We have events that are planned where the media and members of the public are invited to come out and to share their memories and bid farewell to my father.”

First up will be a Hugh Masekela Heritage Park, a curated audio-visual celebration of Bra Hugh’s life chronicling his six decades as an artist, socio-political and cultural activist which will be hosted at Zoo Lake’s Park View Golf Club in Johannesburg from today until Thursday. A “going home celebration”, more like a memorial, will be held at Sankopano Community Centre in Alexandra township today where family, friends, and the artistic community will share their memories. The final public tribute will be the Hugh Masekela Musical Memorial, a musical celebration of his life which will feature artists with whom Masekela had collaborated. It will be held at the University of Johannesburg, Soweto Campus, on Sunday. – African News Agency (ANA)