According to the daughter of one of the founders of the MPLA (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola), Mário Pinto de Andrade was excluded from the revolutionary narrative.
"The legacy [of Mário Pinto de Andrade] in the history of Angola is a little complex to describe, considering that he was not included in the revolutionary narrative. He is not really studied in school curricula. He is now cited as the first president [of the MPLA], but, despite his books starting to be cited, I do not see widespread recognition of his person and thought", lamented Henda Ducados to Lusa.
Henda indicated that this reality makes her feel that there is "something to correct, something to repair and fill".
Therefore, through the association she created with her sister, Annouchka de Andrade, in 2020, the "Association of Friends of Sarah [Maldoror] and Mário", they have been "disseminating the thought [of Mário Pinto de Andrade], republishing books, publishing books with unknown materials", and this year they will publish a book about the time spent by one of the founders of the MPLA in the eastern region of Angola.
For the French-Angolan economist and sociologist, taking into account what Mário Pinto de Andrade dreamed for Angola, there is a need to improve education in this nation with such a young population and there is also a need for Angola to become a "good country to live in".
On the other hand, there is a lack of "memory", precisely in this very young population, which lacks a political commitment so that History "is told as it happened", she concluded.
Henda spoke to Lusa on the sidelines of the event "The Revolution is an Act of Poetry", at the Aljube Museum in Lisbon, organised as part of the celebrations for Africa Month and which aimed to pay tribute to the 50th anniversary of the independence of the former Portuguese colonies in Africa and "the role of culture in the struggle for colonial liberation".
Elias Joaquim is part of BISO - which co-organised the event with the non-governmental organisation Africadelic - and told Lusa that this educational and cultural project [BISO], which was born in Angola but also has roots in Lisbon, aims to promote and disseminate Angolan identity and culture.
For Elias, "Mário Pinto de Andrade was a pioneer in the consolidation of pan-Africanist thought", but he is a forgotten figure in Angola and, consequently, is not given the importance he deserves.
Thus, "within the scope of the 50th anniversary of independence", the possibility arose to remember the Angolan philologist, sociologist, essayist and anti-colonial ideologue, "a 'departing' figure, both for his physical struggles and for his thought".
"We, as young people, decided to resurrect the figure of Mário", he added.
This young man also mentioned that his generation is a kind of "orphan" in terms of references and memories of the past, so events like this Thursday "are extremely important to contribute to the historical discussion", even if it is "from the diaspora".
