WeeklySA_AdminHERITAGE: The legendary songstress to be celebrated as part of “the Van Toeka Af Living Legends Recognition Series”…
By Own Correspondent
The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC), through its Van Toeka Af Living Legends Recognition Series, will host a landmark tribute concert in honour of the iconic Mama Abigail Kubheka, celebrating an extraordinary 68-year contribution to South Africa’s music, arts, and cultural landscape.
This tribute forms part of the department’s ongoing commitment to “give them their flowers while they can still smell them” — a core principle of the Van Toeka Af Living Legends Recognition Series.
Launched in 2023, the Van Toeka Af Living Legends Recognition Series recognises artists whose work has left an indelible mark on South Africa’s cultural heritage. It also provides sustainable support through platforms such as the Living Legends Legacy Fraternity Trust (LLLFT).
This one-night-only event will unite more than 25 legendary performers, all offering their time and talent in tribute to a woman whose voice, grace, and artistic influence have helped shape the soul of South African culture.
Directed by renowned saxophonist and composer Khaya Mahlangu, the concert will feature performances from luminaries, such as Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Faith Kekana, Mandisa Dlanga, Khanyo Maphumulo, and Stella Khumalo.
The audience can also look forward to musical contributions from icons, including Sipho Mabuse, McCoy Mrubata, Babsy Mlangeni, and Fana Zulu, with a powerful opening performance by Zenzi Makeba Lee alongside the Miriam Makeba Band.
“Mama Abigail Kubeka is more than a performer — she is a living archive of our nation’s cultural memory. For nearly seven decades, her voice has carried the spirit of resistance, healing, and hope. Honouring her is both a duty and a privilege, reminding us that our greatest cultural treasures still walk among us, guiding us with wisdom and unmatched artistry.
“The Van Toeka Af programme is about legacy, memory, and dignity. It says to our artists: we see you; we thank you, and we honour you. It ensures that future generations know whose shoulders they stand on and gives recognition to those who created beauty and meaning during some of South Africa’s darkest hours,” the department said.
Kubheka’s career began in the 1950s, and she remains one of the last surviving artists to have performed alongside greats such as Miriam Makeba and Hugh Masekela during the apartheid era. Her body of work spans film, television, jazz, theatre, and activism — a legacy that continues to uplift and inspire generations.
The concert will take place on July 5at 6pm at the South African State Theatre in Pretoria.
This tribute follows in the footsteps of past Van Toeka Af honours bestowed on cultural giants, including Dr John Kani and Dr Tete Mbambisa.
These recognition events serve not only as emotional homecomings for the honourees, but also as national moments of reflection on the country’s cultural journey and future
A prolific and versatile entertainer, Kubheka went on to perform in Philip Tabane’s award-wining Jazzmakers, Tshooks Tschukudu’s Elite Swingers and Mackay Davashe’s Jazz Dazzlers. She performed to critical acclaim across venues in Africa, Europe and Asia, appearing alongside such stars as Eartha Kitt, Percy Sledge and Monk Montgomery.
Kubeka also developed a career as an acclaimed actress in film, television and on stage. She featured in the films Hijack and The Line. Her stage roles include Des and Dawn Lindberg’s King Afrika with Henry Cele and Best Little Whorehouse in Texas with Judy Page. In Xoli Norman’s “Our Father, Ma’s got the Blues, Amen”, she played shebeen queen Joyce, a role which allowed her to give free voice to her love of the blues. In a performance in the documentary Sophiatown, together with Thandi Klaasen, Hugh Masekela, Dorothy Masuka, Jonas Gwangwa, Caiphus Semenya and Dolly Rathebe, Kubeka paid tribute to the indigenous jazz music of the 1950s.
She also recorded an updated version of “Yini Madoda”, a song first recorded by the Skylarks almost four decades earlier. The popular song captures the unbroken spirit of rural women left behind and often neglected by their men who are forced to seek work in the cities. Kubeka writes and arranges many of her own songs. She contributed the theme song for the sequel to the well-known documentary film What Happened to Mbuyisa?
Kubheka has commanded huge world audiences, such as at the first Miss World Pageant to be held in South Africa in 1992 and at the opening ceremony of the All Africa Games in 1999. She has also performed for more intimate audiences, including former president Nelson Mandela and Queen Elizabeth II. Kubeka sings in many South African languages, including Afrikaans.
