The group has been nominated to represent Zimbabwe at a festival to be held in California next month. During their tour, the eight-member group will also perform at a concert dubbed One World, One Love where Afro-American artists will also perform to help bridge the gap between the two cultures.
The group was formed in 1998 and since then it has participated in various cultural activities in the region and toured countries like Botswana, South Africa and Kenya.
“Through our mbira music we have been addressing social issues and also advocating for the empowerment of youths in Africa,” said Rovambira coordinator, Marlon Magwaza.
They fuse their mbira with jazz and poetry. Magwaza said ACF aimed at bringing love, peace and unity to all African countries and those in the Diaspora as well and to stimulate cultural fellowship between Africans from different countries.
He said the festival also strived to support communities by providing different types of charity services to the needy. “We encourage everyone to get involved by being part of this vision for change that we have for our community,” Magwaza said.
Magwaza said he had also been nominated for Best Arts Coordinator award with aspirants from nine countries that would take part in the festival. The winner of the award would be given an opportunity to host the ACF in his or her country next year.
He said on October 1 and 2, the festival would host an exhibition that will give the performers a chance to showcase the various tourist attraction destinations in their countries.
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He said they would closely work with the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority before their departure. “This will be our first overseas tour although we have hosted several shows around Zimbabwe and regionally.
“We performed in South Africa during the World Cup 2010 and went to Botswana for the Botswana Arts Festival. We have also performed in Malawi,” he said.
Magwaza urged various arts supporting institutions and individual promoters to support mbira players and help allay the religious misconceptions that linked mbira to evil spirits.
