Blessing’s HIFA Diary - Day 5, Messing with my mojo
1 May, Saturday
Coca-Cola day
“Open happiness.”
___
I left HIFA early today because being a Saturday, it was so crowded that it had become stressful to be there, the vibe had changed completely and the bouncers at the main stage gates had messed with my mojo.
The day started off great: press conference was colourful, with a wide range of guests and we were treated to a lovely serenade by The Magnets (an a cappella group from the UK). From there I rushed to my first show of the day, which was Musicolour, featuring Outspoken (spoken word artist) and his band The Essence, in collaboration with Trio Broz (string trio courtesy of the Embassy of Italy and the European Union), and Upmost – My Brother’s Keeper (spoken word artist). Out of the featured repertoire, my absolute favourite was one I’d never heard before; a satirical number about two domestic servants fighting over who was the best servant to baas and medem. The gardener ( Outspoken) and the cook (Upmost) do not like each other, but each one of them loves his medem and loves his baas. I laughed uproariously. These two guys have mad skills and Trio Broz were superb.
Now, Outspoken tackles issues of global politics and personal freedom. What was ironic is that at the end of a particular track, a member of the audience walked up to the stage and made a comment about the song. First of all, should audience members even be allowed to approach performers during a set? I wondered why this was allowed because none of the many festival staff at hand made a move to ask the lady to return to her seat. Read more
Nguva Yedu – Thuba Lethu – Our Time!
Pamberi Trust – Book Café presents the first edition of its festival of youth – a thrilling 5-day multi-disciplinary arts program featuring Zimbabwe’s top young contemporary artists alongside young artists and arts writers from Senegal, Ghana, Uganda, South Africa, Swaziland, Kenya, Ethiopia and Cameroon.
‘Nguva Yedu – Thuba Lethu – Our Time’ is a celebration of African youth and renewal, creativity and a vision for a future Africa - through music, poetry, comedy, workshops, arts journalism, open discussion and cultural exchange. Read more
