An Evening of Music from Zimbabwe with Thomas Mapfumo and the Blacks Unlimited

An Evening of Music from Zimbabwe with Thomas Mapfumo and the Blacks Unlimited

Saturday, October 16 / 5:00 PM & 8:00 PM
Multicultural Center Theater

In the 1970s, during Zimbabwe’s war of independence against their white Rhodesian rulers, Thomas Mapfumo, often called the Lion of Zimbabwe, created the chimurenga (the Shona word for ‘revolutionary struggle’). This unique style combines the Zezuru mbira, a 22-pronged, wood and iron lamellophone used in ceremonies to summon the spirits of dead ancestors, with western instruments such as electric guitars, bass, and trap drums, and a political message full of innuendo and traditional proverbs. Tickets $5 UCSB students/$15 general. Contact the A.S Ticket Office at 805-893-2064. Limited seating.

Co-sponsored by the Mbanefo Foundation Fund of UCSB and the IHC’s African Studies RFG.