Miss Independent!
Yesterday was Zambia’s Independence Day…and it was SO much fun!! We started celebrating Friday night when we were invited to the Choma Rotary Club’s Miss Independent pageant by Mrs. Phiri. She is the amazing woman who runs our guest house and is also the president of the Rotary Club. We had VIP seats and were placed right at the front of the room by the catwalk. As we waited for the pageant to start, music started to pound through the giant speakers beside us. Instead of Tonga music, I was surprised to hear Rihana, Beyonce, and other American singers thumping through the room. We all stood as the guest of honor, the District Commissioner entered the room in full African dress. We remained standing for the singing of the Zambian National Anthem and listened as the room was filled with beautiful harmony singing of their country’s independence.
The girls were split into six different categories. The first was Office Attire. Each girl came out wearing some type of work outfit ranging from a nurses uniform to a jumpsuit. They would sit and pose with a desk or laptop and the MC would say something about “closing a big deal in New York”. In between each category there was some type of entertainment. There were three groups of “rappers” who came out like they were in their own personal music video. The funny part was that none of them were rapping and were lip syncing the entire time. My favorite was a group of three breakdancers called the Disciples. They continued the pageant with Summer, Casual, and Sportswear where the girls dressed in different sports outfits: futbol, tennis, golf, there was even a bikini or two! My favorite category was the Traditional round. Each girl came out to an African song called the Tonga Bull in a traditional African outfit. They would also perform some type of ritual dance as they walked down the runway. One of the girls was incredible! She made her way down the catwalk shaking her hips like there was no tomorrow, moving in a way I could only dream about! After the dance each girl would explain the symbolism behind the dress and the dance. I looked around at all the different faces, embraced the Zambian music pulsing through my veins, realizing that I would never have an opportunity like this again.
By 11PM the room was packed full of people cheering and having a wonderful time. The last category was the Cocktail round. The girls were escorted down the isle by their “husband” in an evening gown and were asked three questions by the MC. There were different questions about Zambia, the Rotary, and some were even about AIDS. It was interesting to hear pageant questions being asked about AIDS prevention. It is something that is such a huge part of their lives and makes its way into their lives on an everyday basis. They can’t help but address it.
The entire night was wonderful and so much fun. It was a different type of fun that we have had since we arrived here. It wasn’t a clinical type of fun or playing with children type of fun. It felt like we were a part of the culture and celebrating their independence with them. It was a good feeling.
