Myriam Uzenzile Makeba – South Africa- (1932-2008)
Her real name Zenzile Makeba Qgwashu Nguvama, Myriam Uzenzile Makeba was a South African ethno-jazz singer and political activist. She was known as ‘Mama Afrika’ and was known to have been a vocal opponent of apartheid. Myriam, her stage name, used songs to denounce the apartheid regime and the miserable living conditions of the black proletariat. In 1956, she wrote her greatest hit, the song Pata Pata, with which she travels around the world. She was forced into an exile that will last 31 years, due to its appearance in the anti-apartheid film Come Back, Africa.
