Her style is influenced by great African and jazz singers, and the dignity of her delivery is a credit to her and to her country, wherever she goes. Her music has been accurately described as ‘an afro jazz adventure’ – a fusion of genres: afro, contemporary, Zimbabwe traditional, township, jazz, afro, Latino, and a cultural cross-breed of Zimbabwe’s Manica, Mashona and Matabele rhythms and melodies, with energetic stage work, and sizzling vocals. Dudu performs with her backing group – Color Blu.

Welcome to the Chimanimani Arts Festival 2009 webpage – we are pleased to announce this years festival will run from May 23-24.

After the success of the festival revival in 2008 we have been faced with a real challenge to put forward a program to match that of last year – we are pleased with the result.

We have continued with our emphasis on bringing Zimbabwe’s best known talents to  the Chimanimani stage with shows from Dudu  Manhenga, Dino Mudondo and Steve Makoni – and we have looked to represent a wide range of musicals genres and other arts and craft disciplines within the scope of the festival . We also continue to use the festival as a developmental platform for Zimbabwean artists and, besides the Chimanimani and Manicaland groups , there will also be shows from talent developers Music Crossroads, whilst Student Partnership Worldwide (SPW) will showcase their AIDS  related dance shows and workshops as part of their “Dance 4 Life” student training program.

This year we are also  grateful to the Embassy of Spain for their support to bring our first international  group “Demachena” (Shona for ‘black and white‘) – a Spanish based mbira, guitar and percussion trio comprising  of Rugare Musikavanhu, Luis Giminez and Antonio Prats- they will perform on Saturday 23 May. We hope this exciting development is the cornerstone of making the festival an international event  attracting groups and artists from our region and further afield.

The festival remains a free entry event – for that we remain grateful to those donors and sponsors who help to make the festival happen – without whom the logistics of organizing the festival would not be possible – thank you very much.

The past year has had its challenges for all Zimbabweans, and now 2009 seems to have ushered in a rash of new challenges on a global scale but a glimmer of hope at home -  we are looking to the festival to bring some  respite and entertainment to the Chimanimani community and to all those visitors who take the chance to come to this “festival with soul”

Steve Sparx
Festival Director

Contact Steve Sparx for more festival information – sparx@thulani.net

The Embassy of Spain and Espana Cooperacion  Cultural Exterior.are pleased to support Spain based trio “Demachena” on their upcoming musical tour to Zimbabwe to appear at the  Chimanimani Arts Festival  – scheduled to run from 23-24 May. The group will also have shows  in Harare at the Book Café and The Mannenburg on Wed  27 and Thurs  28 May respectively.

Demachena perform a distinctive blend of Arab, African and Latin music incorporating a host of  styles  to produce an intriguing musical concoction.

The trio comprises of Luis Giminez  – an enthnomusicologist and  master mbira and Spanish guitar player; Antonio Prats  – an astounding percussionist and founder of the Spanish percussive orchestra “Batukem Takada” and Rugare Musikavanhu – accomplished instrumentalist and vocalist.

“Demachena” translates to “Black and White” in Shona  and it is the traditional instrument of the Shona culture, the mbira from which the group  derives a strong component of their compositions. Whilst experiences in the Sahara Desert, Mali and India, spent documenting regional culture and traditional music, also  exert their influences and are evident in the  bands unique tones.

Demachena’s music is a fascinating musical journey – from Flamenco to Central African Katanga,  complimented by the mastery of  ethnic and contemporary instruments.(mbira, ngoni, udu and didgeridoo).

The group have headlined at major Spanish festival s and were nominated for the prestigious  “Fundacion Canal de Isabel II” awards in Madrid in 2008 – which recognizes talents of young musicians across all genres.

More info on the group can be found at www.myspace.com/demachenaworld

Contact Steve Sparx for more festival information – sparx@thulani.net

Chimanimani Arts Festival 2009

May 23-24 2009 Sat/Sun of Africa Day weekend

Friday 22 May

Chief and entourage festival blessing ceremony – with local dignitaries, traditional music, dance and ceremonies.

Saturday 23 May

1130-1150 – UBC Choir – Chimanimani
1200-1230 – Gwarimba
1250-1350 – Ngangu Band
1400-1440 – Gwinyai Trust
1450-1550 – Tino Bhima
1610-1700 – Cyclone
1710-1800 – Dance4Life – part of Student Partnership Worldwide (SPW)
1810-1910 – Joshua Sacco and Radiation
1930-2030 – Demachena – Spanish trio
2050-2150 – Dudu Manhenga and Color Blu
2210-2310 – Music Crossroads
2330-0030 – Dino Mudondo
0050-0220 – Nicholas Zakaria

Sunday 24 May

1130-1150 – St Johns Choir
1200-1300 – Ntswaitswai Crew – Mutare
1320-1420 – Senior Musaraketa
1440-1540 – Danguramanzva – Mutare
1600-1650 – Dance4Life
1700-1740 – Luke Chikwe
1800-1900 – Tatambura
1920-2020 – Hope + Kakuwe – Bocapa
2040-2140 – Steve Makoni
2200-2330 – Gwarimba
2350-0120 – WaterFire

Theatre – to be held at CAFT Office:

Sunday 24 May

Yambiro – 1200-1245
Pungwe Murahwa – 1445-1530

Poetry – CAFT office

Film – Msasa Cafe -sponsored by the US Embassy Dept of Public Affairs  – daily showings of a selection of films

Workshops – CAFT Office – Sat/Sun 0830-1130 – Dance and AIDS awareness/Spoken Word/Theatre

Acrobats + Drummers

Crafts and Culture

Thanks and Acknowledgments

The board of trustees of Chimanimani Arts Festival would like to thank all the donors and supporters  of this years festival for making the event possible.

Contact Steve Sparx for more festival information – sparx@thulani.net