Tony Award-winning actress Anika Noni Rose returned to South African soil last Saturday for the Veuve Clicquot Masters in Val de Vie, Paarl.
Most people would know the singer and actress for staring in the Academy Award-winning hit musical 'Dreamgirls'.
In the film, Rose stars as Lorrell Robinson alongside multi-Grammy-winning superstar Beyonce (Dina Jones) and Grammy & Academy Award-winning star Jennifer Hudson (Effie White) as the third member of the fictional girl group ‘The Dreams’ in 2006.
But what prompted the singer's second visit to Mzansi wasn't only the polo, she also came to experience more of our beautiful country.
Paarl. 3.03.18. Actress Anika Noni Rose was one of the VIP guests attending the Veuve Clicquot Masters Polo held event on Saturday at the Val de Vie Estate. Picture Ian Landsberg African News Agency/ANA.
"I was invited, and any reason to come back South Africa is a good reason. I love the atmosphere, the people, the food. I've never been to a polo match before so it's very exciting to be here with Veuve Clicquot", she said.
The ‘Everything, Everything’ actress also voiced Princess Tiana in the ‘The Princess and the Frog’, who was also the first black princess to join the Disney family.
“While I think it’s very clear. Any time a child gets to expand their thoughts on who they are or who they can be. Then that is an important piece of something to show. And the easiest way to get through to children and talk to children is through their imagination.
So what better than these fantasy pieces that say you can be so much more than world tries to tell you, you can be. That you are regal and you are strong. That you are magical and you are absolutely perfect just as you are. I think it’s phenomenal and extraordinarily important."
With the recent success of the box buster film, ‘Black Panther’, Rose shared her thoughts on the importance of representation.
"And what ‘Black Panther’ has done with that $700 million worldwide has made it undeniable that our faces sell when we have quality products. There’s no way anybody can look at that number and say: Oh, we don't sell oversee. I mean we(people of colour) knew it was a lie from the beginning. But now it’s irrefutable and if someone wants to deny that truth then they’re denying themselves money.”
Rose has also being doing her fair share of sightseeing.
“I’m in Cape Town until Monday (March 5) and then I go to Johannesburg. So I’m trying to go and see as much as I can in Cape Town. I want to see Table Mountain, get some malva pudding - it’s my favourite thing - and do just as much as I can.
"I wanna do the local things. I don’t wanna go somewhere and eat a version of American food. I wanna eat the food from right here. I wanna be as much a part of the culture as I can, ” she said.
Speaking on her up-and-coming projects, Rose said she has a movie coming up called 'Assassination Nation' which is set to be released sometime this year.