A message of gratitude from the Masekela family
JOBURG – Bra Hugh's family writes a letter on what would have been his 79th birthday.
Forty days ago, on 23 January 2018, South Africa lost jazz legend Hugh Ramapolo Masekela.
Masekela succumbed after a courageous battle with prostate cancer. It was never an option that he would concede to death and up until the very last week of his life, he carried on as though he would live forever.
Read: A star-studded send-off for Bra Hugh Masekela
Masekela’s family had the following to say:
Today as we observe, what would have been his 79th birthday, we turn again to all the wonderful people here at home and all over the world who wrote tributes to mark his contribution to the world of music and culture, to the many who remarked on his love for his country, South Africa, and how he had shaped his career to give glory to the courage of his people and to give voice to the struggle against apartheid.
We turn also toward his spirit of generosity for recognising and developing talent wherever he encountered it, irrespective of the paucity of resources to do so. He just did not believe any obstacle was insurmountable. By the end of his life, he had worked with many mega-talented artists, many of whom he had discovered and mentored as youngsters, but his best friends numbered in equal numbers his peers with whom he had studied and played with in the many bands he formed during his lifetime.
Read: Tribute to the late Hugh Masekela
Today we want to thank everyone who helped us through the early days of grief. We are bereft, but not of friendship, not of fellowship, not of kinship and not of human kindness.
To all the people who took care of us at The Pines, a special thank you. We will never forget the efficiency, patience and sheer human affection extended to us. Not even a single complaint from a single one of them. A great South African team!
Thank-you too, to the medical doctors, the Traditional Healers Association, especially to Chief Tseane and his ensemble of healers and musicians for a cathartic and still reverberating, send-off for our beloved.
Read: Father of SA jazz, Hugh Masekela leaves a powerful legacy
Not least, we thank the Gauteng Provincial Government and the Department of Arts and Culture whose assistance allowed us to commemorate Masekela at memorials in the townships of Alexandra and Soweto, and through whose cooperation we were able to realise his desire for a traditional funeral.
Any individual or organisation interested in further information on projects of or making financial contributions to the Hugh Masekela Heritage Foundation please go to www.hmhf.co.za or info@hmhf.co.za.
Let us know how this giant of a man touched your life in the comment section below
