US Naval Forces recreate Shosholoza on Mandela Day to pay tribute to former SA President

On the occasion of Mandela Day on Saturday, the United States' Naval Forces Europe Band paid a special tribute to the former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela. The Europe Band presented a special rendition of the Shosholoza song. The video of the music was shared by the US Embassy in South Africa. 

"Nelson Mandela inspired people all across the world to take action and inspire change. For me, Shosholoza captures Madiba's legacy," Ambassador Lana Marks on the occasion remarked. 

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Shosholoza, also known as South Africa's second national anthem, is a folk song which was sung by all-male African workers that were working in the South African mines in a call and response style. It is a mix of Zulu and Ndebele words and can have various other South African languages in it depending on the singers.

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Mandela Day is an annual international day in honour of Nelson Mandela and is celebrated every year on July 18 which is also his birthday. The day was officially declared by the United Nations in November 2009. Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic which has affected the entire world, the massage of Mandela Day in 2020 is: "It will be the day we share the successes we have achieved and the lessons we have learned as we battle this pandemic, and its effect on those less fortunate than ourselves."

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