By Sabina Elago
WINDHOEK– The Oviritje group Bullet Ya Kaoko are to once again present their authentic dance, music and drama in their unique cultural attires overseas.
The group will embark on a month’s tour of the United States of America (USA) touching Washington DC and New York, and Canada in Toronto and Vancouver and the United Kingdom in Manchester and London from August 1 till September 2.
Theunis Kandjii, the group’s Marketing Manager says “the group has continued to strive through promoting and preserving the Ovahimba heritage through the presentation of their authentic dance, music and drama in their unique cultural attires while playing traditional instruments to maintain their rich Ancient culture and continue the fight to promote Namibia as a destination.” He adds that this is going to be a new market for the group as they have never performed in the USA, Canada or the UK. “Every opportunity we get performing outside the country we take it as an opportunity to promote our country, and in particular our region Kunene, for the past five years since the group’s first international performance at the 2010 World Cup we have assumed the role of ambassadors for our country and we carry the flag of the Nation everywhere we go and we make sure they know where we come from,” says Kandjii.
The group will celebrate its 10year anniversary this year and this invitation is a clear illustration of how far they have come in the last few years. They have events lined up in Belgium, China, Brazil, Germany, Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe, by this year. “We sincerely hope that more and more Namibian musicians gets to perform outside Namibia cause the more exposure our music gets the better for our tourism sector,” says Kandjii. The trip is organised by the American Association of Arts in collaboration with the Namibian community in the USA.