Vocalist Tutu Puoane pursues her dreams

Vocalist Tutu Puoane was born in a South-African township and now lives in Antwerp. She has paid tribute to icons such as Joni Mitchell, Miriam Makeba, and Martin Luther King, but here are three things that truly inspire her.

“Mama was a single parent who raised me and my brother all by herself. As a mother of two myself and married to the most amazing husband and father, I now have an incredible amount of respect for her because I just can’t imagine how she did it. I wish I had half her strength and courage. During my upbringing, I didn’t fully realise the hardships that she went through. She never burdened us with her problems. To me and my brother, everything was fantastic. It was only when I was older and started asking questions that I understood how much she tried to shield us from all her worries. The biggest lesson she taught me is never to be afraid to ask, which is of course easier said than done. If you don’t know, just ask, never assume. ‘Asking doesn’t hurt and it doesn’t cost anything,’ I tell my kids all the time.”

“How my musicians play and what they play is the source of my inspiration in the moment, when we’re on stage playing together. Clemens van der Feen (the bass player of the quartet she will bring to Molenbeek, tp) and drummer Dré Pallemaerts, for example. These two guys always manage to push me musically in a way that very few musicians can. They always get me to dare and not be afraid to do and try things I usually don’t do with my voice.”

“Going to a South-African university to study the arts was seen as a ‘white-people’s-thing’ in my day. Now, everything is different because the younger generation have all the doors opened for them. All the arts departments are filled with extremely talented young people and this mind-set has created new opportunities. There is freedom of movement and space, and people are setting up creative spaces where Black people were not allowed twenty years ago. Johannesburg especially is home to some of the most innovative, creative, artistic and vibrant young Black people. There is no structural financial help for most things in South Africa and yet folks there are doing things for themselves and moving forward. Every time I visit my home country, I return to Belgium with a dose of optimism and an urgency to pursue my own dreams.”

> Tutu puoane. 23/11, 20.00, Huis van Culturen en Sociale Samenhang van Molenbeek/Maison des Cultures et de la Cohésion Social de Molenbeek