Photo-Story: Soweto’s Holiday Inn
The bonus of hosting overseas visitors is that we get to do the tourist thing in our own country. And then we share it with you Representers! Editorista popped off to Walter Sisulu Square to show some foreign friends around and was delighted to visit the BRAND NEW four star Holiday Inn Soweto. It’s so new the only guests were workers and interior-design looking types doing final touches. Good job to them, the decor is fantastic – a wonderful blend of local flavour and contemporary chic. Click HERE to go to our PHOTO-Story. We were lucky enough to get a tour from the highly informative and very friendly Jeffreys who made us feel right at home. The hotel lines the “Russianesque” Walter Sisulu Freedom Square, with rooms facing into it featuring glorious sized balconies (we can just imagine New Year there!) or the other way out onto the bustling Union Street that captures the authentic Sowetan spirit. There is so much to see and do in and around the HUGE square including the superbly put together Kliptown Open Air Museum that takes us back to the 50s and the drawing up of the Freedom Charter – very emotional but very important. All that was missing were lots of open-air restaurants, pubs and meeting places although we are sure they are on the cards. Events organisers take note, for your next imbizo, exec gathering, premium brand launch or medium size dinner, BOOK it at the Holiday Inn Freedom Square for something different and memorable. The hotel boasts 46 luxury rooms, we got to see the twin, double and presidential suite, all gorgeously decked out and appealling … from R1500 up, they are well worth it. WE CANNOT RECOMMEND A VISIT TO WALTER SISULU SQUARE MORE HIGHLY – GO GO...
TTT Summer Nights Tour kicks off eKasi
Oh yes, despite this miserable winter, we know that Summer will conquer and that the sun will shine through and on and on… And so we start to give you the lowdown on the first Summer bashes to come. What a way to kick off the festive season – the Miller Summer Nights Tour taking place at Elkah Stadium in Rockville, Soweto on the 10 November featuring Thebe, Tuks and Trompies – three of our fave muso’s! Ladies get free entrance before 9pm – R40 otherwise all round. Click on the flyer for more. Here’s the PR: Glorious summer nights are here again with long balmy evenings ideal for getting together with friends. And Miller has just heightened the experience by staging the fabulous Summer Nights Tour, so that township dwellers can relish the genuine urban experience right at their own front door! Miller Genuine Draft and the Kalawa Jazmee stable have come together in a sizzling partnership, teaming up taste and sound in a symphony of music and the real brew. This is a not-to-be-missed opportunity to share some genuine cold draft with friends at a world-class event. Some of South Africa’s finest artists will be strutting their stuff to the delight of spectators. Trompies, Thebe and Tuks will be entertaining the crowds and Popular DJs like Mahoota, Oskido,Monde and Bobo will be vying with each other to produce the liveliest sound. And don’t forget Soweto’s finest, DJ China and acts by Tina, the new sensation from Kalawa. So if you really want to be with it, show your chic and enjoy your music and Miller’s, join the fun-loving swingers in Johannesburg this...
Represent Review: Soweto Wine Festival
The Matrix get’s his first shot at wine-tasting and find’s himself seduced by the sensuality of it all. Sounds like something you don’t want to miss next year! Sharpile Reuben for always Representin’ – particularly when your assignment is so awful *wink*. See some pics here. This weekend Soweto was encased in charcoal roasted casks fresh from the Mother City as Cape Town’s best and not so best wine cellars eagerly perspired and promoted, hoping to gain favour with the pockets of the wealthy, novice, bargain hunters and the enthused! On Saturday night the Standard Bank sponsored grounds of the University of Johannesburg in the heart of Black Diamond economy were sprawling like a fishermen’s Mediterranean village at the Standard Bank Soweto Wine Festival 2007. Wine connoisseurs from all over the Rand sipped the fine, bold and crystal liquid as famous Stellenbosch cellars like Kanonkop (Canon Hill) Wine Estate served their best of the best. Kanonkop wine is gently and slowly fermented and aged to perfection in fire roasted-wooden casks for more than two years in order to give it it’s smooth full-body and the fervent after-taste that just makes you crave even more of their famous Cabernet Sauvignon. For me, the night was too young and choices too many for one to be over-indulging in just a few samples of cape liquid gold, especially when I took into account the number of Wine Estates represented at the event and all that tasting that still needed to be done. I wanted to have a well balanced and well informed cask (Pun intended!) of the entire event… and thus I prepared myself for what was inevitable with the task at hand – a heavy babalas! Representahs! I don’t know about you, but my knowledge of wine (before Saturday that is) was limited to what I saw on the store racks and the self-crowned cook shows on BBC-Food. However, right now i believe that i’m in a more informed state to “school” you all about the age old art of distillery that is Wine Making. Okay, now (what did I jot down…okay here it is), apparently, wine unlike beer or spirits can’t be fermented (this is wine jargon for crushing grapes and filtering the liquid with a mixture of other stabilizers in huge wooden barrels called Casks, more like those in the Jack Daniels Ads on TV, Ah…you see not so difficult is it?), at just any location and not all vines are suited for Wine making or rather superior quality wine making. I was also informed that you specifically need Mediterranean weather in order for the fields to yield delicious grapes, hence the Cape’s winter rainfall being well suited for South Africa’s...
Represent Recommends: Sundays in Soweto
It’s mosdef the place to be to forget your Sunday Blues as winter winds down towards Spring – join Levi’s ekasi at the Backroom in SO-WE-TO for the month of August… With a line up of some of Rep’s favourite muso’s and DJ’s including 340ml, Lira, Kwani and Khenzero, the old adage of “you don’t want to miss this” rings true for four weekends in a row. Levi’s® Vintage Sunday’s moves to Soweto for the month of August In August Levi’s® Vintage Sundays moves to Soweto for the first time, taking over The Backroom every Sunday night, and giving this vibrant township even more vibe to close off the weekend. A true reflection of our country’s diverse and inspiring musical wealth, the acts on show are bound to get the venue all heated up with their uniquely South African sounds. It’s going to be an incredible journey into the heart of good music. Make sure you’re along for the ride. The weekly attraction will be homeboy and hero DJ Kenzhero, the man who knows how to turn the party on and drop the tunes that we all love. His style moves from Latin and Soul to Jazz-tinged Hip Hop, to all-out Funk and rare wonders. He plays all over, but he’s always on the mark. On the 5th it’s all about hip hop. T.R.U.E. get it all going with their uniquely crafted style that place as much emphasis on lucid lyricism as it does on groundbreaking beats. The crowds adore them – and they are proud to give the love back. Zuluboy is also up on the night, keeping true to his roots with a modern mixture of traditional rhythms and future beats. His energy is boundless – so be prepared to be swept up by it. Albert Frost is joined by the twin talents of Selaelo Selota and Lira to take it further on the 12th. Albert’s the master of the laidback groove, but don’t let that fool you, because his organic, intricate blues guitar compositions have been known to bewitch audiences around the country. He’ll be doing just this at The Backroom. Selaelo Selota and Lira take the stage as a duo, complementing each other’s powerful personas with a shared vision for live brilliance. Selaelo’s genre-defying jazz-drenched music combined with Lira’s super-sultry, heavenly voice. What a treat. On the 19th Echoes and Kwani Experience take the stage. Echoes are three friends with a common passion: beautiful music. This love is brought to life with their unique vocal melodies and guitar accompaniments. They believe in remaining fresh and are amazingly original onstage. Kwani Experience are the 8-piece who always give...
Represent Recommends: Sanza’s Soweto Map
Yesterday we bumped into our Swazi brother and fast-talking YFm morning breakfast host Sanza da Fanatik…He told us all about his gorgeous “Underground Jozi and Map of Soweto”. Having lost the original Jozi underground map that we acquired years ago, we immediately bought two! Great presents for friends, family and loved ones overseas. You can buy them at Exclusives or Xarra books in Newtown – ours were R30 each – what a bargain guys! Congrats to Sanza and his partners Andrew and Tamiko for creating such a brilliant labour of love for our province of Gauteng. Hope you sell millions. Lucille Davie of the (wonderful) Johannesburg City Website gives us more info: OFI, cheri, tymer, hoezit, hola, ntwana, sharp, born frees, malume, mtshanas . . . are just some of the terms you will learn to prepare for a trip to Soweto, clutching your Underground Jozi map tightly. The latest map in the series features South Africa’s most famous township, Soweto, equipping the visitor and resident with knowledge of taxi hand signals, different hairstyles and their names, stylish shoes, greetings, hand-shaking Soweto style, and other local customs. You’ll learn about places and people who have made Soweto famous, like Hector Pieterson; the Regina Mundi Catholic Church; Vilakazi Street and its two famous residents, Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu; Avalon Cemetery; the Credo Mutwa Park; and boxer Baby Jake Matlala. You’ll also learn about “cellphone cultcha”, and that “no self-respecting Sowetan would be seen without one”. This colourful map is drawn by artist and gallery owner Andrew Lindsay. His partners in Underground Jozi are Sanza Tshabalala, DJ and cook, and Tamiko Sher, who has done the research for the map. Read all about it...
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