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the red carpet at his entrance, we would have actually had our stars walking down a red carpet a la Hollywood.
I always find myself gazing at the stars on my favoured channel, E! on DStv on many a night.
Except for that glaring omission, the 7 Arts Cinema, or rather the whole Avondale Shopping Complex was turned into a mini-Hollywood last weekend during the National Art Merit Awards (Nama) 2011 event.
Namas are the premier awards hosted by the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) in order to recognise outstanding achievements in arts and culture.
It seeks to recognise talent and excellence in the different fields of Zimbabwean arts and culture and also to give local artistes national, regional and international recognition and fame. In other words, it is a platform for the artistic stars of Zimbabwe to be seen.
Before the celebrities started arriving, forgive me for having thought Zimbabwe had no celebrity. It is just that in this country a celebrity (am not certain what the word truly means) can walk by and people will just stare and whisper and that’s it.
There are no crazy moments of “Oh my Gosh” as is the case when someone bumps into Shakira, Beyonce of shall I say Justin Bieber.
I am yet to hear of people going wild and screaming to get an autograph in Zimbabwe except for when foreign stars like Joe Thomas, Akon and Sean Paul are in the country.
A few may shout a greeting to local celebrities but the rest will keep walking, turning back to give sharp, secretive glances and gossiping as they go along.
Why is it like that, I wonder. Is it that we do not wish to celebrate our stars, or are we just to busy with our own lives to expend energy on mobbing some person just because they appear on TV?
But that does not mean we do not have them; those men and women who are in the limelight for different reasons, ranging from their God-given talent to play a certain sport, to sing, to write, to act or even to model.
We certainly have them and when in their presence en-masse it is easy to go celebrity-crazy, as I observed. Or is it just me?
I listen to local music a lot especially when driving to and from work, gym as well as other places.
(At home I do not get a chance to listen to music much because all entertainment gadgets are in the control of my children and husband. It is only on Friday night that I wrestle for the remote control and watch some stuff that I like).
When driving I love to tune in to Power FM and courtesy of the station I get to know and sometimes enjoy the hits of the moment by artistes such as Winky D, Sulu, Sebastian Magacha and whoever will be currently making waves.
So imagine my excitement at suddenly seeing Sulu, Winky D, Fungisayi, Dudu Manhenga, Victor Kunonga and many others such as Minister of Tourism Engineer Walter Mzembi and the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture right there in front of me last Saturday night
I was actually at Nama for work with a few of my colleagues from the office. Our organisation had mounted a huge poster at the entrance to the Nama awards where celebrities and the public were being encouraged to put their solidarity messages on HIV.
I was perched right there at the entrance in front of our poster wearing my work T-shirt in that environment where Fungisayi looked like a million bucks and Dudu looked like a princess.
Of course, I was wishing for my gorgeous dresses back in the closet at home but I firmly told myself that I was there to work and not to be seen.
As the celebrities walked in I realised I had to give it to them. The Zimbabwean celebrities must have been watching E! too or maybe they are just good.
They were smart. They sashayed in, wearing different designs but I did not see any that disappointed. From Winky D in his reggae headgear to Dudu in her ethnic flowing print, it was wonderful. Even Sulu and Victor Kunonga in his trademark hat perched by the side of his head looked wow.
When I saw Sulu and Winky D approaching like the stars that they are, I was hit by a celebrity moment. When a mother of two who is over 30 starts jumping around failing to say even one word, she has been hit by celebrity nerves has she not?
One of my work colleagues had to literary fan me so I could calm down enough to stop jumping all over the place gesturing at Sulu and Winky D respectively.
With the way my children are always chanting “Musarove Bigiman” it was just a bit much to suddenly see the young man responsible for the hit song in the flesh right in front of my face, and to hand him a marker so that he could put an HIV message on our poster.
Who knows, he might pen a lyric or two about it in his next hit?
As for Sulu, like many others, I have followed his career through the media with fascination having been an arts reporter those days when his late father was also making waves.
I have also seen several unsavoury articles about him in the media and had the natural curiosity that comes from having read about someone and then seeing them in the flesh and wanting to ask what is true and what is not.
Judging from the red apparel that he wore to collect his award, the young man is very good at dressing up.
Even the journalists from the different media houses could not be outdone. They went all out as evidenced by the glitter that characterised Nama 2011.
All sorts of gowns could be seen around the venue. The DJ Shortys, Tracey Sibanda, Sifiso Mpofu, Jonathan Mbiriyamveka, Peter Matambanadzo, Shamiso Yikonikos were all looking glam. You had to be there to have seen it.
The gladiator heels were there. The clutch evening purses were there and so were the hot hairstyles. Forgive me for feeling sorry for some young girls as they moved around as if they were in pain in gigantic heels. They went to such lengths to look good.
The men showed that dressing well is not for the females alone and wore the latest in men’s fashion.
Some notable dressers, apart from Winky D and Sulu were Willis Wataffi of the Afrika Revenge fame, Walter Mufanochiya of ZBH, Perm Sec Dr Mahere, Engineer Mzembi, Albert Nyathi and Walter Muparutsa.
In true celebrity style those of our celebrities could be seen arriving in the company of their spouses and partners who also looked great. Is it not wonderful to see a hot-looking couple arrive arm in arm?
I urge the celebrities to keep it real and hang out with their partners and spouses at all times because the fastest way to lose all that glamour is to be sexually irresponsible. Some of the couples that looked hot together were the Mzembis and the Albert Nyathis.
And as is typical in premier events worldwide, as the stars arrived, they got interviewed. They posed right there in front of the entrance and had their say just like the Rihannas, Queen Latiffahs and Oprah Winfreys.
I am glad that I had a chance to catch some stardust at this year’s Namas and will definitely return next year.
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