Miriam Makeba began her music career singing for her cousin’s band, the Cuban Brothers, but it was only when she began to sing for the Manhattan Brothers in 1954 that she began to build a reputation. She toured South Africa, Zimbabwe (former Rhodesia), and the Congo with the band until 1957.
Miriam Makeba was born on March 4th, in 1932 Johannesburg, during a time of economic depression. Her mother, a domestic worker, was imprisoned for six months for illegally brewing beer to help make ends meet, and Miriam went to prison with her as she was just 18 days old. She grew up in Nelspruit where her father was a clerk with Shell Oil.
Miriam Makeba children: Meet Bongi Makeba
Bongi Makeba was a South African singer-songwriter. She was the only child of singer Miriam Makeba with her first husband, James Kubay. Angela Sibongile Makeba was born in South Africa in 1950 when her mother was 18 years old.
The name Bongi by which she became known is a shortened version of her middle name Sibongile, which means “We are grateful. In 1959 her mother’s career took her to New York, where she remained in exile after being barred from returning to South Africa, and in 1960 was joined by Bongi, who stayed with friends while her mother toured the world.
