Lions in Winter

This chapter reflects on the lessons of Mapfumo’s life and career to date. The author shows how Mapfumo’s family and musicians have adjusted to life in Oregon. Mapfumo and his wife reconcile. The chapter centers on the argument that Mapfumo’s choice of exile represents his prioritizing his family above his career. The career has suffered, from lack of financial support and competent allies, but also from being removed from his most important source of inspiration: Zimbabwe itself. Meanwhile, his family thrives in America, and he continues to compose, record, and perform, ever working to return and perform in Zimbabwe. The chapter reflects on the international impact of Mapfumo’s music within the “world music” phenomenon. Chimurenga music’s depth and beauty, and Mapfumo’s powerful voice and personal charisma, have allowed it to endure, despite a key drawback—its historical remove from the history of the Afro-Atlantic slave trade.