AFRO-POP MEETS PORTLAND

Posted on December 28, 2011 by loveness

 AFRO-POP

MEETS PORTLAND

(Portland, OR)        Her music – which is rooted in the

The African Queen & Princess-mother and daughter

exotic culture of Zimbabwe – tickles your soul, sweeps you into a swirl of unexpected energy and teases you into shaking off the dust of daily turmoil.

The rolicking African sound of Loveness Wesa – driven by the beat of inspired musicians in the Bantus Band – is AFRO-POP and it takes you to a happy place.

   That happy place is now here in Portland, where Wesa has made her home after sharing her gifts of music and dance on tours around the globe; in Australia, Europe, Canada, Africa and the U.S.

It has been a joy creating her publicity images.

Among Wesa’s credits over the years,  she lists performances for the likes of the Queen of England, Prince Edward,  the Zimbabwean president, the President of South Africa and in  2007 George Bush Senior and Bono of U2  when he was receiving his  Liberty Medal at the National Constitution Center  in Philadelphia and, Performed at the launch of the Portland Blazers player Nicholas Batum’s foundation “Mamas of Africa”,  sharing the stage with Khanye west,  Wutang Clan and many more.

   Wesa tells of being the first female artist in Zimbabwe to write, choreograph, direct  and produce dance theatre shows performed mostly by women.

And she has been daring enough to play traditional drums in her act, defying a taboo in her homeland that once denied women in her culture a place behind a drum.

Loveness sees her style of entertainment as a vehicle to spread a message of peace, freedom and understanding.

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Shalom Wesa The African Princess

 Her music was inspired by her mother, aunt and grandmother who were Sangomas – spiritual mediums who used song and dance to channel ancestral spirits.

Wesa’s sound merges ancient traditions with a modern twist and is adapted to both traditional and contemporary instruments.

Listen closely and you’ll hear the influences of musical legends including Miriam Makeba and Harry Belafonte.

Like Loveness, who danced endlessly as a child, her own 10 year old daughter, Shalom, adds sparkle to their stage performances.

The 5th grader is a savvy entertainment vet who has been performing since she was 3.

If you can’t catch their act, Loveness Wesa CDs are available at www.lovenesswesa.com  cdbaby.com and bantusband.com.
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Dance Tradition Finds New Footing

Posted on December 21, 2011 by loveness

Dance tradition finds new footing

Loveness Wesa finds plenty of local talent for African troupe

BY ERIC BARTELS

The Portland Tribune, Dec 3, 2004, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Loveness Wesa may be working harder than she ever has. And that’s no small feat.

In Zimbabwe, her own mother doubted she could prevail in the male-dominated entertainment industry Ñ until she became the first successful female theatrical producer in the country. Wesa earned acclaim as a dancer, choreographer and singer, releasing two popular albums.

For her first Portland production, she drew from three African nations and her own adopted Alberta neighborhood to assemble a 22-member cast including members as young as 4 years old.

That required her to juggle cultures, languages and work schedules.

“I’ve been teaching in pieces,” says Wesa, 31. “I’m doing more than what I’ve done in the past.”

Her talents as a producer and performer will be on display in “Langivela Khona (Where I Come From).” In it, stories of Africans who’ve recently arrived in the United States are animated by the staples of Old World performance: vibrant costumes, ebullient call-and-response song styles and lively dance.

The five adults in the show hail from Senegal and South Africa, in addition to Wesa’s native country. But cultural barriers were overcome.

“They’ve been in this field for a long time,” Wesa says of her fellow performers. “We know we have differences. You just try to listen. There isn’t something where you feel ‘Oh, this guy thinks he’s better.’

“When we came here, we came here mostly for one reason, hoping to improve our lives. We feel we are all the same. Even though there is a difference in language, there is a lot in common.”

Moving to Portland with her American husband two years ago wasn’t easy for Wesa.

“I didn’t want to come to America,” she says. “I was leaving my whole dance troupe and my band. It was hard. My country knew me. Here, not even my neighborhood knows me.”

Wesa set out to work with established artists in Portland, but financial realities slowed her progress.

“With no money, it’s hard to work with professionals,” she says.

She was contacted by the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization, a Portland nonprofit, which led her to a surprising discovery. “I saw this big African community; people from Africa directly: Angola, Tanzania, Somalia. I thought, ‘Oh, wow! There’s a lot of Africans here.’ ”

Wesa had worked with children and young people back in Zimbabwe. Here, she thought, was a chance to do that and more. IRCO agreed to provide re-hearsal space for Wesa if she would volunteer with the organization, teaching dance to local kids.

Retaining the name Kgotso African Dance Theatre, the company she founded in Zimbabwe, Wesa put together a troupe.

The majority of the younger performers are children of recent arrivals to the United States. For them, she says, the songs and dances are somewhat familiar. “They don’t feel like ‘Wow, I’m doing something unique,’ ” she says.

 

 

But seven of the younger performers are African-Americans several generations removed from their ancestral homes. For them, Wesa says, the traditions of the Old World are entirely new. They are drawn to the dance initially, but a cultural connection soaks in over time.

“I think they are getting to see the world in a different way, think about other parts of the world,” she says. “We sit down and we talk. It makes them more curious to learn.

“They feel ‘Oh gosh, I wish I knew more.’ They say ‘Loveness, I want to go to Africa.’ Maybe they have that feeling maybe one day we’ll go. Sometimes they make me want to cry.”

Wesa brings another African tradition to the troupe’s rehearsals: rigid discipline. “When I teach in the schools, I’m just so sweet, but when I’m into this, I’m a little tough,” she says.

Once rehearsals have ended, Wesa explains her approach to her students. “I tell them, ‘Look guys, I know I’ve been hard on you. I don’t hate you. I want you to be professionals. I want you to be stars. It’s just an hour or two hours. You won’t die.’ ”

In a world of style wars, video games and fast food, Wesa says, that lesson about self-sacrifice is important. “To tell the truth, some of these kids could be in the street right now,” she says. “This program has made a big difference.”
ericbartels@portlandtribune.com

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Thomas Mapfumo’s daughter?

Posted on December 4, 2011 by loveness

Published: November 3, 2011

Thomas Mapfumo’s daughter? thumbnail

Am I Thomas Mapfumo’s daughter?

….One of my Zimbabwean brothers (Zimbos) in the diaspora wrote me this beautiful praise about my work and about how I sounded in Thomas Mapfumo’s new album Exile. He said “Love, you are one of the best daughters Thomas has ever had….”

I just wanted to clarify that No I am not Mukanya’s daughter, I wish I was, not because I didn’t have a father, but because Thomas is a living legend and I have listened to his music since I was in my mother’s womb. It has been an honor working with him and recording with him the album Exile. I started working with Thomas Mapfumo in 2004-2010 as a singer/dancer and I still work with him today if I am not busy with my own band.

Loveness Wesa

So if you liked Exile you liked the whole package, that is my female voice in there too. I would like to say Thomas has been my inspiration in my music and he will always be. So join me in my musical journey. “The Healing Experience Journey” check my sites www.bantusband.com, www.lovenesswesa.org and or just google my name for more articles and news. Hope to see you all sometime soon. I love you all and keep supporting my work and remember I wouldn’t be here without you guys, you rock. (ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

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Karate that turned into Sweet Music

Posted on December 4, 2011 by loveness

Published: November 6, 2011

Is it possible for a career in karate fighting to lead someone into full time music production?

Just about 36 years ago, a beautiful baby girl was born in the city of Kings Bulawayo, Zimbabwe into a family of mixed cultures – Ndebele, Suthu, Shona, Bemba languages living under one roof.

As she began growing up as a Ndebele lass, Loveness developed a passion for karate and decided to join the Cont Mhlanga led Amakhosi Cultural Centre which was conducting specialised karate training courses.

“When I was a teenager, I joined Amakhosi Cultural Centre with the hope I would become a karate Diva, says Loveness.

It was after rubbing shoulders with professional Karate trainers at Amakhosi Cultural Centre that Loveness discovered there was much more that the organisation was doing.

In action…Loveness Wesa

From then on she began to develop her singing after an X Factor-style competition conducted by Cont Mhlanga thrusted her into music making.

Today Loveness shares the international stage with giants such as Thomas Mapfumo and has released up to 6 albums of her own along the way. Three of her songs are constantly played on ZBC TV and radio.

Some aspects of her style sound like refined versions of Mapfumo’s organic militant music to the extent that recently Wesa had to correct people who were now alleging she might be one of Mukanya’s daughters.

A mother of three, Loveness lives in Portland Oregon where she has been since 2002. She continues to both write and record songs(ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

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Afro-Pop Queen set for return

Posted on December 4, 2011 by loveness

 

The Zimbabwean

Sunday 4th December 2011 Update: 07:44am

After seven years in the wilderness, US-based afro pop queen, Loveness Wesa, plans to hold her first shows in Zimbabwe in December next year, eight years since her last visit to the country.

editor@thezimbabwean.co.uk

by Mkhululi Chimoio

 

Loveness Wesa plans her big return to Zim in 2012.

Loveness Wesa plans her big return to Zim in 2012.
“I am so pumped up. You have no idea how eager I am to give my fans what they have been longing for. I can’t wait for December 2012 because that is when I will stage my first shows at home. I want an all night show in Bulawayo on the 23rd and 24th of December, then I will also arrange for the same show in Harare,” said Wesa.

Born in Bulawayo, Wesa was a dancer, choreographer, actress, singer and producer in her native home before moving to Portland, Oregon in December 2002. She was first exposed to the traditional music and dance of her country as a small child watching her mother, aunt and grandmother who were Sangomas.

In 1989, while still in secondary school, Loveness Wesa joined the Amakhosi Theatre in Bulawayo where she studied music, dance, acting, choreographing, script writing and stage design with the leading artist of Zimbabwe as well as visiting artists from Ghana, Burkina Faso, Zambia, South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana, United States, United Kingdom and Jamaica.

She performed in many of Amakhosi’s best known plays, appearing on national television and touring Norway, Switzerland, South Africa, Botswana and Mozambique. She has performed for Queen Elizabeth and Prince Edward of the United Kingdom and Presidents Mbeki of South Africa and Mugabe of Zimbabwe.

In 1998, Loveness founded the Kgotso African Dance Theatre as a vehicle for bringing works by women artists to Zimbabwe’s stage. She choreographed Kgotso’s first production, Chakwatu. In 2001, Wesa became her country’s first woman theatrical producer when she brought her dance drama Brooms to Amakhosi.

Though the dances are African, and the lyrics of songs and chants are in their original languages, she tells her stories entirely through dance and music, making them comprehensible to any audience.

She has five albums to her name: Tovera, Mukadzi wamambo, Mvura, Brooms and Ndanda.

 

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