The Sunday Mail
Intwasa is to Bulawayo what Hifa is to Harare.
They are both festivals that bring together the various manifestations of the arts. But that’s just about the only comparison: they are really festivals from two different planets.
Never mind that Harare is the capital city, and with such status comes a lot of benefits. Add to that, Bulawayo is currently depressed, that most of its industry and commerce is down, which means sponsorship for any initiative is likely to have lukewarm reception.
I was in Bulawayo for the last two days of Intwasa and though the efforts of the organisers were highly commendable, what I found disturbing is the attitude of Bulawayo residents – they don’t seem to want to support their own.
This is probably the reason why Sandra Ndebele had to come to Harare to make it big. Albert Nyathi, Afrika Revenge, Dudu Manhenga, Edith weUtonga, the late Dumin Ngulube, Lwazi Tshabangu and some that might have skipped my mind, all made the great trek to Harare.
Two incidents were particularly disturbing.
On the Friday before the festival closed, Suluman Chimbetu was the main act in the Large City Hall. Before him was Amawala, a collaboration between Rute Mbangwa (jazz), Edith weUtonga (contemporary traditional), and Tina Watyoka (afro-pop), backed by some of Zimbabwe’s gifted instrumentalists.
Their act was polished, reason why they got a standing ovation when they closed their set.
Then Sulu came on stage and performed before a crowd of between 400 and 500 (according to Raisedon Baya, one of the organisers). After Sulu was Albert Nyathi, a Bulawayo-born and bred artiste.
You should have seen how the festival goers trooped out of the hall soon after Sulu’s performance.
That is the problem I find with Bulawayo crowds. First, a crowd of between 400 and 500, which Baya said was the biggest paying crowd for the festival, does not augur well for Intwasa’s continued success. For comparison’s sake, a 400 crowd at Hifa would be for any small production.
It might be wrong to compare crowds in Harare and Bulawayo, but if a festival as big as Intwasa has a 400-strong crowd as its biggest paying audience, then hard questions have to be asked and answered.
Second, that after Sulu performed people started trooping out does not augur well for Bulawayo artistes, more so that it was their own son Albert Nyathi coming on next.
Bulawayo artistes, it seems, are not well accepted in Bulawayo, and the reasons for this are not immediately clear.
Lovemore Majaivana has said he will not come back to Bulawayo to perform, ostensibly because the people who are clamouring for his return won’t bother to attend his shows.
The embarrassment that Albert Nyathi endured that Friday night in Large City Hall is a manifestation of a bigger problem: a city that does not honour and respect its own.
For instance, on a drive in any suburb in Bulawayo on weekends or evenings presents one with music blaring from sound systems being that of Harare or South African musicians.
Sad, very sad.
For a festival like Intwasa which is struggling to improve its figures, next year they could consider scheduling different shows at different times.
For instance, it did not make sense to have theatre at Bulawayo Ampitheatre at the same time that stand-up comedy was running at Hope Centre. This only serves to split the small audiences.
As much as I wanted to attend the theatre production, for my good friend Marvellous Mbulo had told me he wrote it, I was torn because I wanted to taste Bulawayo’s stand-up comedy.
So comedy it was and it wasn’t bad, both in attendance and performance. I was pleasantly surprised by Doc Vikela, his performance was beyond my expectations. And Babongile Sikhonjwa. The rest of the comedians were average, or maybe below average.
(Why is it that stand-up comedy has to be full of vulgarities?)
At the same time, the closing ceremony was ongoing in the car park of Large City Hall, which was free to the public. This meant that those who turned up for the comedy night or theatre missed the closing ceremony. Especially the performance by Mokoomba, which I would have loved to catch.
Something to ponder for Baya and company as they draw up next year’s programme.
After the comedy night, and now in car park for the closing ceremony, and with the crowd thinning, I made inquiries as to where I could have a night cap and was informed of a club in Ascot, probably the most happening club scene in Bulawayo.
What raised my ire was how revellers turned up in their droves at the club.
Here were the residents of Bulawayo, who had shunned Intwasa, paying US$10 per head for Harare’s Judgement Yard, which was the main attraction at the club.
If they had made the same kind of stampede at the festival, wouldn’t it have made Intwasa, who were marking their 10th anniversary, happier?
It is quite sad that Intwasa had to rely on Suluman Chimbetu to draw its largest festival crowd. It is quite sad that Judgement Yard, a grouping of Harare DJs, had more impact in Bulawayo than the Intwasa closing ceremony.
If the closing ceremony had been a paying affair, chances are Mokoomba would have performed to an empty car park.
Quite sad that Alick Macheso, Oliver Mtukudzi, Peter Moyo, Sulu and Jah Prayzah, never mind their national stature and appeal, command more respect and crowds in Bulawayo than Bulawayo sons. More so when there is Jays Marabini, Chase Skuza and the Cool Crooners in Bulawayo.
The fully-subscribed comedy night should be an indication to festival organisers that they are moving in the right direction and that with a little bit more pushing, Intwasa will go places.
Understandably, industry in Bulawayo has gone down which leaves organisers with a mammoth task of getting sponsorship.
But if the people of Bulawayo could support their own festival then the need for sponsorship would be minimal.
In any case, if Bulawayo residents support their festival – and by extension their artistes – then the sponsors will be compelled to support the festival.
