In Khayelitsha, a township in Cape Town, where opportunities can be limited, music has become a way forward. CNN’s Inside Africa explores a story of talent, discipline, belonging, and finding a voice.
The Thanda Choir were founded by composer and conductor Lisakhanya “Prince” Maqhajana. Despite having no formal training, Prince knows exactly how to pull harmony from chaos, “Thanda means love, but Thanda Choir means family. So, it’s love for the family, it’s love for what we are doing.”
The choir grew from passion and ambition, with an initial dream that is becoming reality, “The initial dream, I suppose very farfetched, but now it doesn’t seem too farfetched was becoming the next big choir in not only South Africa and Africa, but in the world.”
Co-founder Julio Teixeira explains to CNN how the choir has progressed into social media stars, “When we started, I mean as a rough number, we were looking at about 20,000 on Instagram maybe I think 70 to 80,000 on TikTok, very, very low numbers […].But fast forward to today to see how far that audience and that family has grown to, I think the last I checked, we on about 800 and something thousand followers on Instagram, close to a million on TikTok.”
And their fans aren’t just limited to Africa, “These are followers from all over the world, from the States, from Brazil, from France, everywhere you look, we’ve got a following.”
Despite their social media fame, Khayelitsha, where the choir call home, is one of Cape Town’s most dangerous townships. Asandisa Siswana, one of Thanda Choir’s lead vocalists, explains that “There’s a lot of activities that are happening. People are being gunned down in broad daylight.” However, for her, the choir is an escape from this, “The choir, it keeps me away from the fear that I always experience when I’m at home.”
Asavela Mpayipeli is one of the group’s co-managers, helping turn talent into something sustainable and making sure no one gets left behind. This involves the rehearsal space many of the singers call home. Mpayipeli walks CNN through the space, “This place was formed during apartheid time, where the third-class people, which is black, came this side to make a living. Also, this is the place where they can at least stay without paying so much expensive rent. So, it was just a place for them, a whole.”
In a place where choices can be limited, Thanda Choir has become a second family – built on structure, care and a shared sense of purpose. Choir vocalist Zizipho describes this sense of community and closeness, “We are coming from different backgrounds, but when we are there, we are one. We don’t discourage one another, we support one another. We share love with each other and that’s how it is home because it feels warm.”
These interviews were featured on the latest episode of Inside Africa on CNN International.
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Author: Tshegofatso Nkubone from Burson on behalf of CNN.
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