Luis Munana has been having a busy 2024 and it seems the jet-setter has no plans of stopping.
In between zipping in and out of the country for media engagements and events, we caught up with him to chat about what he’s been up to and his plans to transform and grow his brand.
We know him as a model, one of the founders of MTC Windhoek Fashion Week, a reality television star, a children’s media producer and an entrepreneur with both a fashion and alcohol brand, but he says he will soon be stepping into a new role as an actor in an upcoming Netflix film.
Though he cannot give us any details about the production as he’s afraid of jinxing himself and it’s still pretty early in the process, Munana says he is ecstatic about trying something new.
“I’ve never had aspirations to win an acting award before, but obviously things are becoming bigger for me and things are unlocking. It’s a new challenge that I’ve gladly taken up and I cannot wait to kill this role,” he says.
He has already started reading the script and is slowly getting into character, he says of his interesting new journey and challenge.
“I’m trying to learn my character and I’m trying to become [him]. It’s just a thing of ‘I need to be the best at this’ because there’s a reason why the casting manager and the director chose me. It means there’s something they’ve seen in me.”
That something must surely be his undeniable star power.
Since the year began, he has consistently shown why he is one of our most valuable exports in lifestyle and entertainment, a sector so often under-represented in the global arena.
Munana sees himself as someone who can help bridge that gap.
In early May he attended the premiere of the third season of Netflix’s ‘Bridgerton’, which saw him and other influencers from across the continent dressing up in their best British regency era costumes and coming together to mix and mingle.
He describes this as a huge win for Namibia.
“I think it’s very important that Namibians are part of the conversation when it comes to big platforms like Netflix and other streaming services. Usually we are overlooked, so the fact that they are finally starting to invite us to attend such events is major,” he says.
And just last week, he jetted off once again, this time to Mozambique for the ‘The Greatest Party Of All’, a networking event which Munana describes as “the African Met Gala”, which was attended by various changemakers.
“They invite influential creative Africans, entrepreneurs and people that are making headlines in the diaspora. So all of these people are under one roof,” the Forbes 30 Under 30 alum says of the four-day exclusive trip.
He also highlights once again how important it was for him to be there as someone representing his country. He says previous iterations of the event were inspiring and gave guests an opportunity to interact with each other. This, he adds, is a major feat when the guest list includes people who’ve worked with the likes of Beyonce, as well as presidents from across the world and the British monarchy.
“Miss Universe was there, you had creatives that are running magazines, from different African countries, Africans from London and the Americas who are artists, painters, musicians, talented artists, photographers, fashion designers,” he says.
He was most excited to be able to showcase his sparkling wine brand, RaZul, across the border to introduce it to new crowds, he says.
“The fact that I get to network and meet all these creatives is quite interesting, plus there’s also a theme and we got to dress up again, which was very nice. I like to dress up.”
He says being part of memorable events is a learning experience during which he can meet potential collaborators and important decision-makers.
Like we said, it has been a busy year and Munana has certainly been working hard. On top of hobnobbing, he also spent time in South Africa in January filming for another project and managed to make time to make a stop in Germany, while fervently shooting and releasing content for the various brands he represents.
It appears this is just the beginning for the dynamic multi-talented creative, who says the year is only starting to kick into gear and promises there is still a lot more we are bound to see from him.
Follow him on social media to keep updated on his exciting journey.
– Anne Hambuda is a writer, social commentator and poet. Follow her online or email her annehambuda@gmail.com for more.
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