Africa-Press – Cape verde. Cape Verdean archivist and former director of the National Historical Archive, José Maria Almeida, recently awarded the Polish Medal of Cultural Merit, considers the distinction an incentive for the preservation of Cape Verdean documentary heritage.
With his work on the November Revolt, a 223-page book published in 2015, the result of decades of research revealing the unprecedented trajectory of a Polish military officer who served as interim governor in Guinea and Cape Verde between 1830 and 1850, José Maria Almeida sees his merit recognized by one of the most resilient cultures in Europe.
In a conversation with Inforpress to elaborate on the award, the first of its kind to be won by a Cape Verdean, archivist José Maria Almeida, the “Guardian of Memory,” confessed his surprise and honor at the foreign distinction, emphasizing that this medal serves as an incentive for the profession.
“It’s a recognition of the work I’ve done and a way to contribute to the ties between Poland and Cape Verde,” he said, noting that the historical connection between the two countries is little known, with Mazurka being one of the rare surviving cultural links in the collective memory.
The Cape Verdean researcher, for whom the National Historical Archive is a “gold mine,” explained that the research that led to the award began by “mere chance” in 1985, during a process of discarding documents from the old Public Library of Praia, where he recovered a folder containing unpublished manuscripts, the “Memoirs of Bissau and its dependencies,” written by Major Dziezaski.
Recalling that the investigation process was long and intermittent, spanning decades, the same source stressed that the National Historical Archive is a vital structure for the country’s identity, although the behind-the-scenes work, which he compares to that of “a miner or an ant,” is invisible to 80% of the public.
“The Archive is a gold mine. We have extremely important documentary collections. It’s a matter of people going inside. I know it’s hard research work, but it’s rewarding,” he commented.
In this journey, he recounts that in 1985/86 he recovered documents and conducted initial research in France and Lisbon; in 1988, with the creation of the National Historical Archive, he assumed management functions, limiting his writing time; but in 2006, after ceasing his management duties, he resumed research as a senior technician and, finally, 2015 was the year the book was published, with the decisive support of Dr. David Hopffer Almada and a preface by Osvaldo Lopes da Silva.
Regarding the challenges of the digital age, José Maria Almeida argues that digitization is the necessary path, but warns that for this to happen, the State must provide the institution with the necessary resources.
Despite being retired since 2021, the researcher does not intend to stop.
With two books already published, the second about the Italian doctor Luigi Filiberti, Almeida revealed that he has new works “in the pipeline,” including a biography of the writer José Evaristo Almeida.
The now-medal recipient also expressed admiration for the resilience of the Polish Major he studied, highlighting the courage of a man accustomed to the cold of Poland who adapted to the tropics and epidemics of the time to serve in Cape Verde and Guinea, leaving his name on streets in the Cape Verdean capital that many still did not know how to identify.
By being awarded the Medal of Cultural Merit, José Maria Almeida joins a select group of African intellectuals recognized by the Polish state, symbolizing the excellence of the Cape Verdean technical class.
Thus, more than a guardian of documents, José Maria Almeida is today a cultural mediator whose work has allowed shared chapters of Luso-Polish and Cape Verdean history to be preserved for the future.
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