By Petronella Sibeene WINDHOEK Elegantly attired Namibians, mostly from the corporate world, turned out in numbers on Tuesday night to attend a gala dinner hosted in honour of the two stars of the popular When You Are Mine soapie. Sylvia Navarro who portrays the television character Paloma and Anette Michel who plays the role of Barbara are on a four-day visit to Namibia. At the Windhoek Country Club and Resort, the two celebrities were the centre of attraction and upon entering the hall, there was a stir as admiring fans flashed their cameras to capture the two Mexican movie stars. People could not get settled and appeared jittery throughout the program, fixating their attention on the two actresses. Visibly, the crowd paid less attention to the official proceedings of the night and continuously took pictures of the celebrities. Not only members of the media snapped the actresses but the event also turned into a photo feast for those with camera cell-phones. Time and time again, NBC officials had to remind the crowd to minimise their movement and the taking of pictures as the time would come for a picture session. The message however fell on deaf ears, as people could just not help but photograph the people on the high table. The Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah in her keynote address commended Paloma and Barbara’s visit adding that they had accorded Namibians an opportunity to meet them in person. Most importantly, Ndaitwah hopes the presence of these celebrities would inspire local actors and actresses in some way as they strive to survive in this industry that is still in its embryonic stage in Namibia. “I wish we could adopt the two and time and time again engage in consultations on advising local actors on how they can also get where you are,” said the Information and Broadcasting Minister. The two stars once again expressed their gratitude towards the Namibian people for the warm welcome accorded them thus far. In what she termed Spanglish, Paloma stated, “The people nice and thank you for feeling for film.” And she also sung the favourite melody she usually performs for Diego at the hacienda. Considering that the NBC’s mandate is to entertain the masses, the Acting Director General of the NBC Stanley Simataa said, the turnout and the attention that Paloma and Barbara were getting showed how popular the programme is. The soapie When You Are Mine depicts Paloma as a young coffee grower collector with great aspirations. She possesses an enchanting innocence and quietly dreams of some day making real her love story with the ideal man who lives in her imagination. After the death of coffee patriarch Don Lorenzo Sanchez, the loss brings together all his heirs and Paloma watches them arriving with the expectations of someone contemplating the unreachable. Paloma discovers Diego, she is impressed and she barely realises that her longed love story has begun and the story goes on…