Africa-Press – Angola. The writer and poet Viriato da Cruz was honored this Wednesday in Luanda by the Union of Angolan Writers (UEA), given his contribution to the affirmation of national literature and culture.
The initiative is part of the 48th anniversary of the founding of the UEA and the 50th anniversary of the writer’s physical passing, which also served to distinguish Viriato as an honorary member of the institution posthumously.
On the occasion, the president of the Bureau of the UEA Assembly, Lopito Feijó, attributed an honorable mention to the poet’s daughter, Marília Viriato da Cruz.
When opening the act, the general secretary of the UEA, David Capelenguela, said that it was the right time to pay homage to this icon of Angolan nationalism.
For the person in charge, Viriato da Cruz was a man committed to the country, “caught in body and soul”, who always defended and permanently sought the cultural and social renewal of the concept of Angolanness.
“We are witnessing at this very moment the attribution of the status of honorary member of the UEA to the Angolan writer, poet and nationalist who greatly contributed and enhanced culture”, he emphasized.
In turn, the president of the Bureau of the Assembly of the UEA, Lopito Feijó, highlighted Viriato da Cruz as one of the greatest references of Angolan poetry, which should no longer be forgotten.
“This nationalist should not be forgotten in the current literary context, as he managed to reveal himself as a great defender of national freedom”, he added.
Without specifying, he also said that the honoree had a legacy that should be valued and studied by the population.
Marília Viriato da Cruz, daughter of the poet Viriato da Cruz, thanked the tribute, claiming that her father was a patriot who loved the country deeply.
Biography
Viriato da Cruz was born in Kikuvo, Porto Amboim, in 1928. He completed his secondary education in Luanda. He was equally political. He died on June 13, 1973, in Beijing, People’s Republic of China.
As a writer, his works were characterized by his attachment to African values, both in terms of theme and form.
His production is spread across periodical publications and represented in several anthologies, of which one – “No Reino de Caliban” – brings together his poetic work.
He was one of the main mentors of the Movimento dos Novos Intellectuais de Angola (1948) and of the Mensagem magazine (1951-1952), in addition to being a founding member and the first secretary general of the MPLA, during the early years of the 1960s.
In 1957, Viriato Clemente Francisco da Cruz left Angola for Paris, France, where he joined Mário Pinto de Andrade, with whom he developed intense political and cultural activity.
publications
In 1961 he published the Colectânea Poemas, produced between 1947 and 1950, by the Casa dos Estudantes do Império (Lisbon – Portugal). And in 1974 he made the Colecção Cadernos Capricórnio 25 available, from Lobito (Benguela).
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