Where else could it be if not in Pretoria. There is more to this place than its unique way of speaking. It is home to various townships and suburbs that have produced so much talent for our country keeping within their streets many colourful characters and an interesting way of life. One of said places would be Soshanguve, now that is a place to talk about in terms of variety in the characters of its residents and of course the variety in lifestyle there as it has so much to offer.
Soshanguve in simple terms is a township in the north of Pretoria, its name is an acronym:
So – Sotho
Sha – Shangaan
Ngu – Nguni
Ve – Venda
The acronym divided Soshanguve residents according to their tribe when they were resettled from Mamelodi and Attridgeville in 1974. While this was to make admin easy for the apartheid government it left a community divided and untrusting of each other. Today there are fragments of the past still visible but there is a sense of unity and harmony amongst the cultures. It is safe to say that Soshanguve embodies South Africa’s nickname “Rainbow Nation”.
There is a lot one can do in Soshanguve it is home to various places of entertainment not to mention education too. Block L which is one of the many sections is said to be the busiest, the place never sleeps it is home to Soshanguve Crossing and many educational institutions including the infamous TUT (Tshwane University of Technology) Soshanguve south and north campuses. In terms of entertainment it is home to Giant stadium, Giant isn’t only used for sporting events but arts and culture too. It is often booked for concerts such as the Black Motion first Sunday concert where music lovers gather to enjoy the African inspired sounds of famous duo Black Motion who also happen to be originally from Soshanguve.
Speaking of entertainment Soshanguve offers places such as Short left situated in block L and Viks situated in Block TT. What both these places have in common is their ability to pull a crowd using their great talent of bringing people together using good food and great live entertainment by our country’s hottest talents both upcoming and already famous. It is home to various people from different walks of life so it isn’t shocking that it has produced a couple of diamonds in the rough, people who have penetrated the entertainment industry and brought with them a flavour that cannot be cloned.
There is a lot that can be said about Soshanguve, it is unpredictable, colourful, talent driven and bursting with life and individuals with big dreams. In a nutshell Soshanguve is like a mini Joburg within Pretoria, at every corner there resides a hustler of some calibre. Some have made it and most are still working on it, the place is of underdog stature and much to its reputation has produced the type of people who make an impact everywhere they go.
By: LULETH MAKUTU
