I dreamed of playing HIFA when I was a girl. My mom used to take me to see the theatre in the park they would have on, and I so longed to be in the performing arts, to engage people like that, to give them something they could take home in their hearts and hold on to. Every show was always so impressive and inspiring... I DREAMED of playing HIFA when I was a girl and a few weeks ago it actually happened!!
It’s a huge social responsibility, I feel, to uphold a standard that has the power to inspire a younger generation of people in love with the arts. I felt very honoured and nervous and excited to be able to do that in my hometown.
And Harare was just amazing.
People were so responsive and easy to interact with live, it was like performing with family. The festival itself was well organized - runners and volunteers were on top of things, there was great quality sound engineering, stage crew helped everything run so smoothly, and the media team never slept! Chemistry with the band, Tinashe Makura and Anton Morgan was ELECTRIC, I just wanna go back in time and relive it all... or rather, do it again next year ;)
The other performances I saw blew me away. I got hit with new waves of inspiration watching the likes of Beatenburg, Tariro neGuitare, and listening in on Salif Keita and Hope Masike. And the ART. THE ARTS GROUNDS. I have no words for just how incredible the artworks were. There is talent to an inconceivable level in Zimbabwe. It is a real privilege to see.
I am so thankful to everyone who came, everyone who danced and sang along, everyone who helped us to get there, EVERYone who tweeted, posted and brought a friend! I am most thankful to my family who bent over BACKWARDS to support me through it; my mom and husband had to bear the biggest brunt of it and I will forever be grateful. To be surrounded by people who love and support you no matter what, is no small thing.
Thank you HIFA, for bringing Arts and Culture to life in Harare, year after year. (and for making 12year old me’s dream a reality)
