A HWANGE Colliery-based cultural group, Pezhuba Pachena, will next week be among the country’s various artistes that will be showcasing their acts at the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) General Assembly to be held in the resort town of Victoria Falls.
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The 15-member group specialises in community theatre, gumboot dance, marimba and a cappella, among others. Pezhuba Pachena is a Nambya term which is translated into “the sun that brings brightness”. This is synonymous with the Hwange climate which is usually sunny most of the time during the course of the year.
It is composed of nine men and six women drawn from various cultural backgrounds found in Matabeleland North. Pezhuba Pachena also plays a percussive musical combination of marimba, djembe, dance and vocals. The group fuses traditional music with Western sound effects and a modernised interpretation of time, space and circumstance.
Through marimba, the group plays a variety of musical styles that includes Zimbabwean traditional songs, Afro-fusion, jazz, house, gospel, Afro-pop and classical sounds.
Members of the group are rich in entertainment experience and have performed on both local and international music festivals, including concerts. According to Luckmore Munzambwa, the group’s artistic director, some of the events at which they have showcased their skills include the signing ceremony in Victoria Falls of the co-hosting agreement for the 20th UNWTO assembly last year.
“We have also shared the stage with Jeys Marabini and Umkhathi Theatre Works. We have also tried to market ourselves through district and provincial events,” Munzambwa said.
He added that the group’s vision since its establishment eight years ago, was restoration of African pride and human dignity through arts as they seek to preserve the Nambya, Tonga and Dombe cultural heritage for the present and future generations.
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“This can only be done through preservation of indigenous African musical sounds by merging the traditional with contemporary music,” Munzambwa said in an interview with Southern Eye.
The group usually provides entertainment during Hwange Colliery company’s major events such as Kamandama Commemorations, long service awards, Safety Health and Environment and other related activities.
