NAPLES, Italy, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- South African singer and anti-apartheid activist Miriam Makeba has died of a heart attack in Italy at the age of 76, her representatives said.
ANSA said Makeba, who was known as Mama Africa and the Empress of African Song, died shortly after performing at an anti-racism and anti-Mafia concert in Castel Volturno Sunday night.
Makeba's aides told ANSA the performer agreed to sing at the musical event despite her recent poor health. The Italian news outlet said she sang for about 30 minutes but suffered chest pains and was taken to the hospital where she died.
The concert was orchestrated, in part, to support Roberto Saviano, the author of "Gomorra," an expose about organized crime in Naples. Saviano's life reportedly has been threatened, forcing the writer to live in hiding, under police protection. A film adaptation of his book is Italy's entry for Hollywood's Academy Awards competition.
Gangsters shot six West African immigrants in September in the town where the concert was held. The event, as well as Saviano's book, reportedly have prompted a government crackdown on crime in the region.
