It was not an Easter weekend without cheer

Who said the Covid-19 Easter would be a dull affair? Despite being over 12 months into a pandemic that has seen stringent lockdowns negatively impacting on crowd-attracting events in South Africa, this year’s Easter was not all that lifeless.

South Africans have now become accustomed to entertainment within Covid-19 boundaries, preferring online or live performances – adhering to a minimum number of people in attendance.

Whether in Johannesburg or Cape Town, the Easter break had something for everyone.

For the world-acclaimed gospel music group, MTN Joyous Celebration, the Easter weekend offered an opportunity to showcase its 25th album during a premiere at the Johannesburg Theatre, with special guests in attendance.

In what went down as a spectacular and colourful two-hour event, the choir performed half of what would have been a four-hour praise and worship set.

As if drawing inspiration from African-American poet Maya Angelou, who was the first to come up with the powerful poem Still I Rise – based on her background – Joyous has come up with an album of the same name, which has been trending on social media.

At the Market Theatre, people have been flocking to attend Stimela – an exhibition by photographer Brett Rubin in honour of the legendary and internationally acclaimed South African musician Hugh Masekela.

The exhibition – coinciding with what would have been Masekela’s 82nd birthday – will run until 2 May. Commonly known as “The Coal Train”, the epoch-making Masekela song, Stimela, forms the basis of the maestro’s posthumous exhibition – celebrating his life and works.

With its stark and visceral lyrics, Stimela is one of the pinnacles of Masekela’s contribution to South African music and culture.

Fort Hare University professor of developmental studies Andries Bezuidenhout has hailed the song as a reminder that South Africa’s wealth and infrastructure was built on the back of labour from all over Africa – the force that modernised the country.

Bezuidenhout said the emergence of modern SA came about due to the discovery of diamonds and gold – prompting the need for cheap labour to extract metals from the seams that ran through the Witwatersrand’s rock formations.

The exhibition imagines this world so graphically portrayed by Stimela, set in the treacherous conditions of the brutal and dangerous SA migrant labour system.

In his famous song, Masekela has described the train as “South Africa’s first tragedy”. His words express the pain of exploited mineworkers, the separation and loss of relatives who sometimes never returned home from work, because of death underground or finding another loved one.

Rubin was the official photographer for Masekela until his passing in 2018. Highlights of the period include photographing the final two Masekela album covers, directing two music videos – one a tribute to the late veteran photographer, Alf Kumalo, and having a portrait of Masekela included in the Carnegie Hall collection.

The Cape Town International Jazz Festival, which has featured singer Judith Sephuma, has since last month gone online.

With its wine estates, the scenic Table Mountain, Kirstenbosch and endowed with beaches, Cape Town remained among favourite tourist destinations over Easter.

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