"He is a great figure of Lusophony, of the struggles for independence, of the way in which culture can be a mechanism to give voice to political and social causes", said Pedro Adão e Silva, on the sidelines of the ceremony inaugurating new companies in management of Cultural Heritage.
The Minister of Culture joined in the mourning and highlighted in Rui Mingas "this closeness that is Portuguese" and the role it "had, in various ways, in Portuguese and Angolan society".
Co-author with Manuel Rui Monteiro of "Angola Avante", the anthem of Angola, Rui Mingas was his country's ambassador to Portugal in the 1990s, having been decorated, on July 26, 1995, with the Order of Infante D. Henrique, which distinguishes those who have provided relevant services to Portugal, as well as services in the expansion of Portuguese culture or knowledge of Portugal, its History and its values.
Born in Luanda, on May 12, 1939, Rui Alberto Vieira Dias Rodrigues Mingas distinguished himself in athletics as a youth, in the specialties of high jump and 110 meter hurdles.
An active activist in the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), a party in power since Angola's independence in 1975, he was a deputy and Minister of Sports.
As a composer, Rui Mingas set poems by Viriato da Cruz, Agostinho, Mário António and António Jacinto to music. Of his recording work, the highlights are "Cantiga por Luciana", "Poema da farra", "Makezu", "Muadiakimi", "Birin birin", "Monagambé", "Adeus à hora da partida" and "Meninos do Huambo".
