Celebrating one of SA’s talents
JOBURG - Although World Maps Day was celebrated on 13 October, City Buzz is also celebrating another kind of map.
Masego Maponyane, more affectionately known as Maps, is doing big things for South Africa in the entertainment world.
The multi-talented actor, TV presenter, and model is currently lighting up the big screen with the recent release of two movies. Tell Me Sweet Something, which did not last as long as he’d hoped at the cinema, and Ayanda.
He’s not only well known for his killer fashion sense but also dominates the small screen where he presents the daily inspirational show called I am South African, which celebrates famous and unheralded South Africans on TV news channel ANN7.
Maponyane has divulged that I am South African is the most rewarding project that he’s working on at the moment. “It truly is rewarding for me in terms of telling the stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things,” he said.
“And it’s incredible that I can be this conduit, otherwise we would never know the good work they do.”
The TV show host is also part of the South African of the Year (SATY) Awards presented by ANN7.
“It’s great talking to people in different sectors and a lot of them touched me on a personal level. I was particularly motivated by some of the young nominees. They do not realise the impact they have on their communities and this country. And it’s brilliant that they are being lauded for the work they do,” said Maponyane.
The icon explained that he is not immune to displaying onscreen emotion and was especially moved by the story of a reformed drug addict, Simon Molekwa of Tembisa, who is a nominee in the young South African category.
The much-talked-about SATY Awards didn’t go as planned after the crowd spoke out on Twitter when singer, Jason Derulo, asked if they could speak English on 17 October, but co-host Maponyane did the country proud.
This star is on his way to putting South Africa on a global stage through TV.
