The ManicaPost
Liberty Dube
Entertainment Correspondent
A bevy of six curvaceous Manicaland models made it through to the semi-finals of this year’s Miss Curvy Africa-Zimbabwe pageant after being selected at the tightly contested auditions recently held in the city.
Natasha Dzapanda (19), Kundai Maenzanise (22), Wadzanai Mubata (21), Sharon Makoko (29), Pretty Mutsago (32) and Chengetai Mwaluku (31) are set to join their counterparts from across the country early next month for a boot camp.
Miss Curvy Africa founder, Princess Mercy Mushaninga, said she was impressed by the level of confidence and professionalism exuded by the Mutare beauties.
The six made it out of 16 aspiring models who took part in the auditions. She said there are a lot of events scheduled prior to the grand finale to be held on September 30 in Harare.
Six models will be crowned in categories that include the Miss Curvy Africa-Zimbabwe Queens, Miss Curvy Africa-Zimbabwe Brand Ambassador, Miss Curvy Africa-Zimbabwe People’s Choice, Best in Fitness, Best in Culture and Best Traditional Dish.
Miss Curvy Africa-Zimbabwe is a pageant for curvy women aged between 18 and 31 and classic curvy models aged 31 to 40 years.
“This year, we are pushing for women empowerment, and our theme is ‘Project Miss Curvy for Women Empowerment’. We are expecting our curvy finalists to be creative in terms of brand creation and being productive in their communities,” said Mushaninga.
“It is not just about the curves, it is about the creativity that the models has in promoting Zimbabwean tourism, country development and economic empowerment, hence the call to stakeholders and individuals in the tourism sector to support young women through modelling.
“Only 16 finalists will go into the Miss Curvy Africa-Zimbabwe boot camp. We have a lot of activities lined up for the curvy models and we will be doing our Curvy Fun Run on July 3. The models will be judged in the Most Fitness model category,” she said.
“On August 21, we will have a Curvy Kitchen Traditional Dish Day where the models will cook their favourite traditional dishes.
“On August 27, it will be Curvy Culture Festival Presentation, where we expect our models to showcase their culture through dancing, music, poetry and fashion.
“We also have the Soccer Ambassadors Fun Day Soccer Match on September 4, were the models will play soccer with fans. We want the models to wear soccer jerseys of their favourite teams, one local and one international.
“On September 7, we will be ploughing back to the community through our project called Models Against Hunger in Africa that gives back to orphans in the community. We will be visiting chiefs since they are the guardians of the community,” said Mushaninga.
Miss Curvy aims to cultivate the girl child’s confidence, as well as encouraging them to embrace their unique bodies. One of the interviewed finalists, Natasha Dzapanda, said her love for art and culture motivated her to take part in the auditions.
“I was a model in high school and I have always liked art, African culture and showcasing my talent. I am happy to be among the finalists.”
