More than a year after his death, legendary former Alex musician and world-renowned trumpeter Hugh Masekela was celebrated with the unveiling of his memorial pavilion at his gravesite at the Westpark Cemetery.
Speaking at the unveiling of the Hugh Masekela Memorial Pavilion, his sister Barbara Masekela, a renowned anti-apartheid political activist who spent many years in exile in the United Kingdom, described her brother’s legacy as ‘complex and transcending boundaries not just of Africa but the entire world’, and hence there were visitors at the unveiling from far afield as Ghana.
“I would like to invite the friends of my brother that whenever they have thought of him or simply want some inspiration to simply drive down to Westpark, read a book or just reflect on his life and imbibe in his musical genius and wisdom. As a family we accept that he was not just one of us but for the whole wide world,” she told some of luminaries of the entertainment industry, among them Abigail Kubeka and prominent lawyer and EFF member Dali Mpofu.
“He was not afraid, and his rage and daring was searing, but his love for family, friends, children, women and Africa is the unifying theme of his opus. Ultimately it is the human species in all its diversity that is his family… He laughed a lot and his humour is scattered everywhere. and we will always love him.”
The memorial pavilion was designed by acclaimed architect Sir David Adjaye. It is based on the architectural tradition of various African countries and affirms the burial place as a welcoming space to commune with the departed. Rooted in the Pan African aesthetic, it resonates with Hugh’s own ethos.
Barbara thanked Adjaye and said he had created a welcoming space, a place for reflection, with light forever filtering through the foliage which is mimicked by the canopy solidly balanced on diversely shaped trunks.
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