After a decade of dreaming, I finally mustered up the courage (not to mention the time) to learn the basics of the acoustic guitar over the summer. There is just something about the sound of a guitar that I absolutely love and, since I tend to move around quite a bit, it should provide me with a portable way to channel my musical talents. For the past few months, I have been looking at various New York venues in search of a guitar performance to educate my fingers and entertain my ears. You can imagine the sheer delight that I felt when I discovered that the sensational Kareyce Fotso (from Cameroon) and Bholoja (from Swaziland) would be in New York in November to perform a concert dedicated to the South African legend Miriam Makeba.
I’ve been a fan of “Mama Africa” since the 5th grade when my class did a dance performance of “Pata Pata” for our annual spirit day. Sufficed to say, I enjoyed the concert immensely and absolutely loved how both performers used the guitar as well as their incorporation of traditional African instruments. My excitement to experience and discover new music has grown exponentially and I can hardly wait to discover all of the wonderful new sounds that Cape Town has to offer. From small local bands to the Cape Town Opera Company, I have no doubt that my time in South Africa will inspire me in many ways.
