The birth of a Star [Wambui Maina]
Wambui (Christine) Maina is a Kenyan girl studying music at the SA college of Music, UCT. Her interim recital the other night was proffesional, very well arranged and proudly Kenyan. Well done Christine. We are all proud of you and looking forward to your next recital and hopeful we can plan a Kenyan “blankets and wine” right here in the mother city!
Vocal and African Instruments: Interim Recital
SA College of music; University of Cape Town
Wambui doing a rendition of ‘Mpenzi‘ and ‘cha upele‘ by Safari Sound Band.The rendition included the alto, Soprano and bass marimbas as accompanying instruments!
Here playing ‘Sengenya‘ on the Chivoti from the Digo community found at the coast of Kenya. She played all 4 movements of the Sengenya dance; yandaro, mserego, ngoma tano and changanya.
Wambui trying to explain the meaning of ‘Mpenzi‘ and ‘cha upele‘ to the white audience. Apperently, ‘cha upele mpenzi’ tranlates “My rushed love” … am investigating 🙂
Mwenyenyo… twist … This is a nice way to earn marks! And yu get people to help you!
Alibulali Themba Liyadanisa (Xhosa, South Africa)
Uhadi (Musical Bow)
‘Nyamaropa” (Shona, Zimbabwe)
Mbira (Lamellophone)- perfomed by 2 mbira players. Wambui here showing off her mastering of the basic technique of mbira playing
Marimba
kwa nini mimi niwache rhumba …
Mabumbumbu Dance
Thanks and acknowledgements!
Well done Christine!!
Africa for the queen
Cecil John Rhodes: An ardent colonialist who dreamt of establishing so great a Power as to render wars impossible and of colonisation by British subjects of all lands where the means of livelihood are attainable by energy, labour and enterprise, and especially the occupation by British settlers of the entire Continent of Africa … why do we even have memorials of such … in Africa?!
Rhodes monument,
University of Cape Town
Pingi … Pingu’s Galfriend
Pingi is Pingu’s love interest and Pinga’s friend. Pinga is sometimes jealous of Pingi because Pingu pays more attention to Pingi than to her …
You will have to come to Cape Town to see for yourself! This was my “back in the day” moment over the weekend 🙂
Pingu & Pingi,
Boulders Beach- Somonstown
Pingu & Pinga- found them!
Remember growing up watching Pingu the penguin who frequently went on adventures with his little sister Pinga & often got into mischief with his best friend Robby the Seal? And all dialogue was in a honking “penguin language”? Well I found them … but I couldnt tell which one was pingu or panga.
Penguin Colony,
Boulders beach, Simonstown
Pingu and Pinga taking a stroll,
Boulders beach
Meet Aunty Rebecca
Remember growing up and your house-help was “aunty” and everyone else who was the age of your older sisters or your mother was “Aunty”? Turns out this is not a uniquely Kenyan affair. In Mzansi, Older ladies are either “aunty” or “Ma” … I suppose its respectful and its the ‘African’ way to honor some of those that serve us in ways that might easily pass for “inconsequential”.
We have one such “Aunty” at the office and everyday for the last few years she has served us tea without fail. Her only complain has been that we don’t take our cups down to the kitchen if we take longer than the 20 or so minutes she gives us before coming round to collect the cups, hence the now famous “NO CUP NO TEA” Aunty rule. If your cup is not downstairs by tea time tomorrow, then no tea for you tomorrow.
Dear world, give it up for Aunty Rebeccaaaaa!!!
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