Mama Africa dies in Italy

Anyone who is a fan of world music, or anyone who has ever lived in South Africa will I'm sure be as shocked as I was after reading the BBC news today tha Miriam Makeba, aka Mama Africa, has sadly died of a heart attack in Caserta, Italy.

A small saving grace is that Mama Africa was still singing and performing at the age of 76, and in fact she had just finished entertaining a small crowd of fans, I'm sure she would have wanted to pass while still able to perform; her whole life was dedicated to song and it seems fitting this should be her method of going.

I'll be raising a toast to her over dinner tonight, and perhaps palying one of her iconic songs, perhaps something from Ipitombi, and for those of you who don't know Makeba's music, please take a moment to look her up on iTunes, she really has been an icon and will be missed.