Mahotella Queens Rock Mookane
Monkagedi Gaothobogwe | Monday October 3, 2016 15:41
Playing on a hot Friday afternoon soon after lunch, the mbaxanga band’s septuagenarians, two founding of women, Hilda Tloubatla, now 74 and Nobesuthu Mbadu, now 72, were certainly ageless on the stage with their energetic dance moves that involved fast waistline swerving, foot kicking and back bending repertoires that had been a characteristic of their stage works since they were 22 and 19 respectively.
The highlight of the show was when the bandleader Hilda invited some elderly and younger generations on stage to imitate the Mahotella queens famous dance routines.
The day show seemed to favour the elderly people’s schedules who enjoyed the two-hour performances soon after lunch before they were ferried home. Ausi Pinkie had hired a mini-bus to ferry the elderly and the disabled to and from their homes to enjoy the festivities. Along with the Balekane ba Botswana, the elderly and the disabled completed Ausi Pinki’s VVIP list and were treated to that status under the marquee tents.
It was a truly Mahotella Queens show with a P6, 000 stage, sound, and visuals, with the group itself estimated to cost P80,000 or more for bookings. The Mahotella Queens did not disappoint as they soon got everyone dancing along to their fast-paced music.There is no doubt even the younger generation which was not initially targetted for such jazzy atmosphere, got to enjoy themselves too, as demonstrated by their heavy presence around the arena.
Hilda, had assumed the role of the late band leader Mahlatini as she performed some of Mahlatini’s signature tunes with gasto, including melodi ya lla pitseng, lilizela Mlilizeli, Gazette, awuthule kancane, among others. The band also performed their most recent compositions, being their tribute to the departed African icon, Nelson Mandela.
Although Hilda was impressive as she lead some of Mahlathini’s famous songs, she told her audience that they are not performing some of their archives because they were dominated by Mahlathini.
Hilda felt proud that the band had been invited to celebrate with Batswana on their 50th anniversary, adding that Mahotella Queens and Batswana cannot be separated as they come a long way together.
As soon as the famous band was done DJ Ti4ng mesmerised the youthful gathering as they got down to the popular tlhomela dance moves. There was a line-up of local artists and dikhwaere battle later in the evening that volunteered to spice up the wonderful day.
Like the previous evening, there was more entertainment on Independence night, thanks to the floodlights that Ausi Pinkie had made sure they turned the night into day at the local stadium.
As many as four floodlights, each standing on its own diesel-powered JVC generator, had been delivered and installed around the stadium to ensure that the evening programme continued swimmingly.