ExitExitSouth African magazine, issue 86, 1996
Drag
By Fanakithi Xala
Miss Thandi is Raymond Matinyana,
she's the toast of the drag circuit in Amsterdam who hails from
small-town Port Alfred. I met her at the bar in 58, in a little
black number with her hair up, and, being the intrepid journalist,
set up an interview.
I met Raymond for lunch a few days later at Gershwin's in
Yeoville. Our long and well-oiled session was interrupted
repeatedly. People crossed the street to greet him. How did this
27 year old get so far?
First he left the small town, finished his schooling in Soweto.
Then he studied Speech and Drama for three years at Fuba Academy.
During this time he got some small TV roles and parts in
occasional plays. He did the backing vocals for Sophie Mgcinga,
was part of an educative play staged by AIDS Outreach, and did
benefit drag shows at Zipps on the side.
Then he went to the States after being accepted by Up with People,
an international intercultural arts education programme based in
Denver, which gives young people the opportunity to explore the
world through music and dance. In the year he was on the
programme he travelled through America doing presentations and
entertaining in schools, hospitals, old-age homes, hospices. The
troupe also toured Europe.
All this took money. Raymond did some chorale and African dance
work, and of course there was drag on the side. He formed a band
in Holland with some other South African's living there.
Initially called Amazilot (as in zealot), the band subsequently
became Tribal Countdown. They toured South Africa in '95, opening
Radio Freedom in Bertrams. Their CD, called Shack Jive,
will be out in June.
The drag shows on the side have become an important source of
income. Miss Thandi has performed and won prizes at famous Dutch
clubs like Havana and Roxy, appeared at conventions, launched
Ronny Kasrils' book, hosted the Queen's Day gala, and even back
here on holiday she has officiated at some functions, like the
Miss Valentine competition at Skyline, the opening of a
restaurant in Cape Town. And I was privileged to see her perform
at Bob's Bar in Troyeville on Wednesday 26 February.
This is no lip-sync queen. Thandi appeared in a variation of
traditional Xhosa costume, and performed some well-known local
songs which the lusty audience joined in and loved. The singing
and dancing were polished and professional, and Raymond is
clearly an accomplished perfomer, particularly adept at
interaction with the audience. When he did eventually do some lip-sync
numbers there were some hilarious send-up aspects in lip, eyebrow
and hand movements.
I asked Raymond why he had chosen the drag name Thandi. He told
me that he was not doing Tina Turner and Dionne Warwick much any
more ("20 000 other black drags do") but was now
concentrating on being an African drag, with numbers by Miriam
Makeba, Margaret Singana and Brende Fassie. He chose the name
Thandi because it is a common South African name meaning the
one who is loved.
He also confessed that one of his secret desires is to appear on
the cover of Thandi magazine! Hamba kahle, nthombi.