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November 10, 2008 at 10:52:00 AM
Italian news agency ANSA said she died after falling ill following her performance at an antiracism and anti-organized crime concert.
JOHANNESBURG, Nov 10 (Reuters) - South African singer Miriam Makeba has died aged 76 in Italy, her publicist told a local radio station on Monday.
Talk Radio 702 said Makeba died of a heart attack shortly after performing at an event near the town of Caserta.
"I'm not yet absolutely certain of the causes of her passing, but she has had arthritis, severe arthritis, for some time," her publicist told the station.
Italian news agency ANSA said Makeba died in the Pineta Grande clinic where she was taken after falling ill following her performance at an antiracism and anti-organized crime concert at Castel Volturno, near Caserta.
The concert was in support of writer Roberto Saviano, who wrote Gomorra, a book about organized crime in southern Italy.
Makeba was born on March 4, 1932, in a shantytown outside Johannesburg. She was the first black South African singer to gain international fame and was also hailed as an anti-apartheid icon.
Makeba, known as "Mama Africa," may be best remembered for the distinctive clicking sounds which punctuate songs in her native Xhosa language.
Story Copyright © 2009 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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