Many remember Chachi Tadesse with her unique style and her song: Ere shegaw simih manew. Though she spent a great deal of her time with her music, she has been away from the scene. But she says it is because of different personal engagements. “Music is in me. How can I quit that?” Chachi asks.
Preparing to release a new album entitled “Proud to be an African,” she recently finished a video clip for one of her songs which will be screened during the anniversary of the African Union, on March 25, next month.
Apart from this project she is involved in Chachi International Art Management plc and her non-profit organization Hohete Tesfa that takes a great deal of her time. She is also a mother of four children, two of them adopted and especially she is deeply involved with her seven-year-old daughter’s life: Cleopatra.
On weekdays, she reads about powerful women, businesswomen so that this can guide her on what to do and also to understand life and what she is facing. Even though she has a lot of engagements, she is highly involved in house chores.
Morning:
Be it on weekdays or weekends, I am usually up by 6:30 in the morning. On weekdays, I take my time preparing lunch boxes for my daughter. Since there is no class on Saturdays, we eat breakfast, preferably simple, cereal food with milk and juice; no heavy meal. In the mornings, I watch different news channels; but I do not like to waste my time by gazing on the TV.
Before heading to teach my morning Yoga Class in Laphto Center I take my time to meditate and pray to start the day in a very peaceful way. The class is for one hour and by 9:30 I will be done for today’s class. After that I work out on the treadmill or do some heavy exercises, which might take more than two hours. After the long exercise, I relax myself by taking a sauna bath.
Afternoon and Evening:
We usually avoid heavy meals and prefer having a lot of vegetables and fruits. On Saturdays we break that rule and go out to have a pizza or burger. This is a family time and we usually head to Sishu Restaurant off Churchill Avenue around the National Theater. We spend the afternoons together or sometimes I go and visit my mother. For the past 25 years, I have been in the music business. You can imagine how the nightlife and going out was a routine for me. Now I have a lot of responsibility. So I head home early if there are no receptions or events that I should attend to. Even on those occasions I do not stay out late. Dinner is a home thing and we eat very simple things like salad. We also love shiro. So there are times where I make shiro. During the evenings, I sit and watch different cartoons with my daughter. There might be also a time when we discuss the Bible. I am not surely a religious person but I am a spiritual one.
If she is asleep I try to watch films of my own romance and drama genres. I do not like films with sad endings, suspense and others of that type. Music will always be part of my life. So I listen to my musical collection of Blues and Jazz.
Before heading to sleep I take a very extended bath that helps me to relax and after one hour or so I head to sleep thinking about Sunday’s home day.
