adminMelissa Mpofu in Harare Showbiz Editor
A six-member musical group from one of the biggest carnivals in the world, the Nottinghill Carnival in Britain, jetted into the country yesterday ahead of today’s Harare International Carnival street party. Speaking just after their arrival, Ruff Diamond Entertainment group leader Ken Hanes said they were excited to be performing at the carnival which was also their debut tour to Africa.
“We are excited to be part of this carnival and we can’t wait to go out there and dance with the people of Zimbabwe.
“We want to engage with the community here and show them how beautiful carnival is in bringing different cultures together in celebration,” he said.
He said it was great that Zimbabwe had adopted the carnival concept which they were using to celebrate.
“On carnival day, everyone is the same, whether rich or poor. We are all the same and we need to mark this celebration well and send a big message to the rest of the world,” he said.
Hanes said his group specialised in Soca music – a genre which they hoped to spread to Zimbabwe as it was keeping their culture alive in the UK.
“Soca music is all about happiness and joy and we brought in a young group which we see as the future of soca dancing. Soca remains a prominent dance in our community and we hope it will do the same in the Zimbabwean community,” he said.
Asked about their expectations at the Harare Carnival, Hanes said they expected to see sunshine and people smiling.
“I expect to see people smiling and happy. I hope though that people will participate in the carnival, not just as observers. For a carnival to be successful, people need to be part of them and I hope people here will do just that so that they go back home feeling they got something special from this event,” he said.
Though the Nottinghill Carnival has been there for over 50 years, Hanes said he was disappointed that it was going backwards.
“In the past 10 years, the Nottinghill Carnival has been going backwards ever since the authorities intervened as it was being run by black people for the past years. What we have done instead, is to turn from Nottinghill Carnival and go around the world to show people just how much of a beautiful thing carnival is,” Hanes said.
He added that he loved being in Zimbabwe as black people were free compared to the United Kingdom.
“In the UK, we don’t get to see black people free. We rely on other cultures to give us jobs. Here the destiny is in your hands and people have to work to improve what they already have,” he said.
Hanes admitted that Zimbabwe had a dented image abroad saying a lot of people were concerned about their security in Zimbabwe.
“Before we came here, people asked us why we were coming here and advised us not to but we told them we knew Zimbabwe’s success stories and were coming here to celebrate with Zimbabweans. When we go back, we are going to show them pictures of the beautiful country,” he said.
He promised to bring in tourists to Zimbabwe when they come for the next carnival, saying they wanted to put Zimbabwe on the world map as one of the authorities of the new age carnival.
Brazilian samba group – Momo King – also jetted into the country two days ago. Their group coordinator, Juliano Barbosa, said his 12-member group of dancers and percussionists was happy to have finally made it to Zimbabwe.
“We are happy to be here to share our culture with Zimbabweans. Brazil has one of the most famous carnivals in the world so we prepared a special show for the Harare Carnival to show people a bit of our own carnival,” said Barbosa.
Meanwhile, it’s all systems go for the street parade with pole dancers, Bev and Zoey who always cause a stir wherever they perform, promising fireworks. They both purchased new costumes for their performances.
Over 20 countries among them Philippines, Malaysia, Italy, Trinidad and Tobago, Namibia, Ethiopia, Zambia and South Africa will showcase their cultures at the carnival which ends tomorrow.
Online Reporter