THE Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA) has come and gone.
It ran from April 28 to May 3.
But this year, it was as if there was no HIFA.
Let me explain.
In past editions of the arts bonanza, we are inundated with requests way before the event roared into life.
Friends and relatives, some that you have not talked to in ages, reappear requesting for tickets for the various shows at HIFA.
They believe we will be in possession of complementary tickets for every show on offer.
It was strange this year I got just a single request, yes a single request, for tickets to HIFA.
Not even a phone call, a text message or a message on the popular social media platforms.
It was as if HIFA was not happening.
There was no excitement in town.
The spirit of exuberance that has characterised past editions was simply not there.
One cannot help, but compare the dullness that prevailed to the doldrums that the MDCs and their leaders find themselves in.
Even the gays emboldened by the occasion to come out of the woodworks were not there.
If they were there, they did not flaunt it in our faces as in the past.
There appeared to be an acceptance there is no hope in this indulgence.
Almost two years after the July 31 2013 massacre of the regime change agenda in the country, there is a coming to terms with the fact that Zimbabwe will be for Zimbabweans and there will be no dilution of Zimbabweanness.
The absence of many traditional sponsors, mostly European governments that used to sponsor the event through their embassies in the country definitely disabled the organisers.
This pulling out of the ‘fiesta’ probably disappointed the official from Denmark, Eric Rasmussen, who insisted that HIFA was as much a political event as it was an arts one.
“HIFA is political,” he desperately wailed.
“If it was not we would have not supported it.
“It is political issues that draw our attention.
“There is no better platform to address political issues than through the arts.”
The official’s insistence came across as a reminder and desperate plea to the discouraged that HIFA can still be useful
The ‘lack of support’ resulted in a lackluster festival.
It seems for the past 14 years there was a belief that Western agenda in the country would prevail and thus a continued zeal to fuel the machinations from an arts angle.
But this year or rather from 2013 there has been acceptance by the West that they will not be having their way in the land of Nehanda and Lobengula.
The theme of the festival ‘Articulate’ found no takers.
It did not resonate with the people for they did not really understand and get it.
I for one as I write am no longer sure what it really meant despite the organisers explaining what they said it was all about.
The point is that despite it being explained I have already forgotten what ‘Articulate’ was about.
In the past, HIFA has had many shortcomings that The Patriot has highlighted, and to their credit, they have made some changes such as including more indigenous acts in their repertoire.
Anyway, this year’s edition was not a totally bleak sky, with not a star shining.
Salif Keita, the ‘Lion of Mali’, ensured that the festival was not a totally forgettable affair.
The inimitable pan-Africanist who has been in the game for decades dazzled, proving old age does not stop the talented, passionate and inspired.
Later joined by our very own Hope Masike, the reigning mbira queen, Keita delivered a flawless act that not only left us feeling fuzzy and warm on a chilly night, but had our white friends both local and visiting delighted.