Makarapa Men

The World Cup is over, and South Africa is a bit deflated at the end of a magical month. It has flown past and I'm already feeling regret for not having got out and sketched as much as I would have liked to - but on Saturday I went to Melrose Arch where I'd heard supporters of the teams in the final were gathering. There were a few fans wandering around, but I found this 'flash shop' - just open for a short time, where township artists were making makarapas, the iconic converted miners hard-hats that have been creatively worn to local soccer matches for many years - first created by one Alfred Baloyi after watching a bottle flying through the air during a match in Soweto. Makarapa is the Xhosa word for migrant workers in the mines. They've been a huge hit with tourists, along with the raucous vuvuzela (pleas for the banning of which have fallen on deaf ears, ha ha) and these men have turned out many of them. At the shop you could design your own makarapa and they cut it out for you, and paint it, though they were so busy that I painted my own design of... tah rah... an Urban Sketchers makarapa!! Lucas, the man in the middle of my sketch, loved it and is thinking of doing a city themed series. While waiting for it to be cut my husband and I had lunch and I sketched the busy piazza outside. I'm sorry I couldn't get near to the final match or the stadium, but... Congratulations to Spain!