Gala leaves lasting memories

held to commemorate Zimbabwe’s fallen and living heroes. And the hosting of the gig was timely as reburial of scores of freedom fighters who were murdered by the Rhodesian forces is underway at Chibondo, some few kilometres from Mt Darwin Growth Point.

The gala came and went but what remains are fond memories and spin-offs that came with hosting such a magnificent music extravaganza.
Music fans, artistes and politicians all came for what turned out to be one of the best attended galas since their inception.
Business was brisk and the entertainment-starved communities all relished every moment before and after the gala as evidenced by the 20 000 plus strong crowd that thronged Mt Darwin High School, the venue of the gala.

You could tell from the faces of revellers that the music fiesta was long overdue and everywhere the buzzword was about high-profile artistes descending on the town.

In a survey by The Herald in the build-up to the gala, there had not been a time when boozers drank Mudondo NightClub dry but since the preparations for the gala started, the management was forced to restock daily.
And all of a sudden, ladies of the night increased charges for their services from US$2 for a “quickie” to about US$5 while the lodges also charged US$10 for single and US$20 for doubles. Such was the euphoria that engulfed Mount Darwin last week.

There was also a sharp demand for BBQs as people drank and ate from the several watering holes dotted around the town.
Away from the madding crowd, music lovers started to trickle into the venue during rehearsals and stayed put until the official start.

The free gala, which was organised by the Media, Information and Publicity Ministry, went according to plan with all the musicians billed to perform taking part.

For first-timers like Alick Macheso, Energy Mutodi, Tongai Moyo, Leonard Mapfumo, Freddy Manjalima and others playing in Mt Darwin was indeed an honour.
And for others the gala felt a lot like a homecoming show as Mt Darwin is home to many musicians including Macheso and Oliver Mtukudzi, who unfortunately was not in the line-up.

However, now that the galas are free of charge, there is need on the part of the organisers to ensure that the music extravaganza begins and ends on a high note.
The point is throughout the performances the show never climaxed but rather it was constant.
The gala could have been more exciting if the organisers had used a smaller line-up of artistes, at least not more than 20.
At times overdoing things is not the best way to entertain people especially music lovers.

Time is always a factor and to try and squeeze everybody on the programme is almost impossible as happened in Mount Darwin.
There is no doubt the national galas have become a unifying force among Zimbabweans and there is no better way to celebrate our successes than through music.