ARTS VIEWS by Thabani H. Moyo
CAL_VIN Mgcini Nhliziyo’s funeral was a paradox. It was inconsistent with his lived life. It was a total contradiction of his experiences as a career musician. It is sad that one can say he got everything right in his sleep. He got the respect of a hero on his way to his final resting place. It is the respect that he never enjoyed during his living days. How did Cal_Vin become so successful after the fateful Sunday of 25th October 2020? Why did we all sing his name and sing along to his songs then when he could no longer hear us? Where did we get the energy to gyrate our bodies to his songs that we hardly danced to during his live shows? Is death that powerful that it can turn things around in a moment?
Cal_Vin’s funeral was a top drawer event. For starters the Hip Hop King was mourned like a king for a whole week before he was finally laid to rest. A very befitting gesture for someone who stood for his community and what he believed in. We needed to have enough time to celebrate him. His final funeral service was held at Amphitheatre. The giant structure takes approximately two thousand people when full. The attendance to his funeral service was amazing. People came out in their numbers. The crowd was colourful. The demographic was amazing, the young and the old showed up, artists and ordinary citizens showed side by side to pay their last respects for that boy from Luveve! He had suddenly become that King from Bulawayo. It is sad that this is the same venue that the same artist is said to have only attracted a mere crowd of 20 followers during one of his shows. But in his death things turned around for him, he had a capacity crowd.
Cal_Vin’s final day was graced by who is who in Bulawayo’s leadership arena. It was graced by the Resident Minister, the Mayor of Bulawayo, Councillors, representatives from Minister of Youth, Sport, Art and recreation, the director of NACZ and captains of industry. These had also come to say their good byes to the career musician of Bulawayo. They had come to send off their son to the next world. One just hoped that they could have supported the young musician during his living days when he fretted from one place to another looking for fame and trying to make ends meet. It is important to have our elders attending to our events and giving us support while we are still in life. It gives the young artists courage to go on after realising that they have a backing.
Cal_Vin’s final resting place Lady Stanley is no ordinary burial place. It is reserved for those people who have contributed immensely towards Bulawayo’s development. According Cal_Vin that status by City Fathers was an acknowledgement that the young man was an Art and cultural icon in the City. His contributions cannot be ignored. Most of the artists and community members salute that.
The team that did the running around and put together resources did an excellent job. Their organisational skills were top class. I am sure some people that usually organise burials for heroes at national level will get in touch to get a few hints on one or two things. The team had ‘that thing’ that makes everything to fall into place. Judging by what the eye could see a lot of resources went into Cal_Vin’s funeral. It is that ability to put such resources together and put up a solid program that the team must be applauded for. There is this one thing about Bulawayo artists, if they put their minds and hearts to it they can do it. There are a couple of events that have happened in this city and the organisational skills exhibited are top notch.
Having said all this, there are mind boggling questions that need some answers. What is it that artists fail to do during their living days to attract constant and huge following? Why do we always run around and have these magnificent send offs of our late brothers and sisters yet during their life time we fail to support them? Is it not wise to empower our artists during their living days? What empowerment programs are we rolling out as Bulawayo to make sure that our artists enjoy the fruits of their sweat while they are still living and not while they are late? I am raising these questions because the young man’s funeral demonstrated beyond doubt that if Bulawayo’s leaders in the creative sector, business, local authority and members of the community want to make things happen they can do so. If we can take ‘that thing’ that got into the organisers of the funeral and channel it towards building a vibrant arts sector in Bulawayo I believe we will soon create a little ‘Arts Dubai’ in Bulawayo. We need the leadership that was exhibited during Cal_Vin’s funeral. We need it even in good times.
Thabani H Moyo writes in his own capacity. Opinions raised in this piece are his.
