I am reading The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels for the fourth time. It is a very interesting book as people always have different views about it and that’s why you find differing reviews of it.
I am reading it again because of the reviews in which people are always arguing about this book, so I read it for a better understanding.
I am also reading a book detailing conversations with Fidel Castro, which tells of the political struggle of the Cuban people from Spanish colonisation until the time of their hostility with the United States. It is a good book on the political history of the country.
I have a lot of books that I like, such as the autobiography of Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, and the biography of Thabo Mbeki, Thabo Mbeki: The Dream Deferred.
I also read fiction books. My favourite author is Zakes Mda. I also like the book, Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe.
I love African music, especially kwaito and African jazz, but I am currently listening to Caribbean Music, a compilation CD of Cuban artists. One of my favourite African jazz artists is Letta Mbulu.
I watch movies only on the plane when I am travelling; I do not go to movies or rent DVDs to watch at home. I think it is just an issue of not finding time to do that.
Among those that I have watched, I liked Blood Diamond and Hotel Rwanda, and some South African movies. My favourite was Tsotsi.
I like going to the theatre, especially at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, and I normally watch plays at the Market Theatre. Live music and poetry are my favourite pastimes.
Port Elizabeth is my favourite city. Anywhere in the city is fine with me, although at weekends I like going to a new township called KK, where there is a butcher who sells good dried meat.
It is a peaceful, trendy city; people are very disciplined. There is a high level of social consciousness — if you talk about humanity, you will find it in Port Elizabeth.
I do not like anything in Jo’burg. I just live and work in Johannesburg; it is the capital city, so everyone is forced to work here. I especially hate the traffic, which makes moving around difficult.
I don’t have a favourite restaurant, because I normally do not go to restaurants. My favourite food is our staple food with any red meat. I also like umleqwa, the chicken you get in the village, not the ones in town. It is very good.
Andile Lungisa is the ANC Youth League deputy president. He spoke to Jiang Alipo