Tuesday 8 November 2011

Arigato Tokiko Kato

My day started out sad as I loaded Sophia onto Sassette and drove to the C2 Construcoes Moçambique workshop to deliver Sophia into the hands of the mechanic. Thankfully it was a Tuesday and no Monday blues to be had.

This evening I joined the small Japanese and the Joburg cultural community for the Siyabonga Charity Concert held at the Joburg Theatre. Tonight was special as one of the greatest Japanese folk singers Tokiko Kato performed with some of South African legends such as Victor Masondo and Sipho "Hotstix" Mabuse. Tokiko Kato started her singing career over 40 years ago and is sometimes called the Japanese Joan Baez. She is well known for her passionate heart and is a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Special Envoy. The Siyabonga Charity Concert was Tokiko Kato's way to thank South Africa for their help in the disaster that befell Japan earlier in the year. Wow what a fusion of Japanese folk music and African rhythms.

Tokiko Kato sang in this soft velvety voice as pictures of people recovering in the aftermath of the earthquake and subsequent tsunami were projected onto a screen...
Are you safe now?
Aren’t you cold?
Aren’t you hungry?
Do you have a place to sleep?

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