Mozambique: ‘Those Radio Days’ hit the stage again, today in Maputo

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Mozambique: ‘Those Radio Days’ hit the stage again, today in Maputo

2:20 CAT | 22 Dec 2023

Photo: Porto de Maputo / Facebook

The MPDC Porto de Maputo and Radio Mozambique musical show “Aqueles Dias da Rádio”! (“Those Radio Days”) hits the boards again today!

This is an incredible journey through the history of Radio in Mozambique in a production by Zé Pires full of music, dance, poetry and theatre, with the participation of: Adelino Branquinho, Antonio Marcos, Chico Antonio, Eliote, Horacio Guiamba, Isabel Jorge, José Mucavele , Mario Mabdjaia, Mingas, Onesia Muholove, Otis, Pauleta Muholove, Pedro Ben and Wazimbo.

Tickets are now on sale at the Radio Mozambique entrance and at www.bilhetesonline.co.mz and www.moz.life/moztickets

Performance is at 6:30 p.m. on December 22nd at the Mozambique China Cultural Centre.

“Those Radio Days” is an initiative of MPDC – Porto de Maputo with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Radio Mozambique and RDP África.

A story. A stage. A festival of emotions. The narrative that crosses the margins of time and tells the adventures of a radio that (de)constructed moments and helped to immortalize experiences returns on the 22nd, in Maputo.

It’s called “Aqueles Dias da Rádio” (“Those Radio Days”), an event which, under the direction of Zé Pires, combined music, theatre and dance at the Mozambique-China Cultural Center in November, and is now, by overwhelming public demand, coming back almost a month later.

Voices such as Chico António, Wazimbo, Otis, Pedro Ben, Fernando Luís, Onésia Muholove and Pauleta Muholove crowned the first edition. And artists like Mingas, António Marcos and José Mucavele join this new adventure.

The most well-known faces in theatre also have a place at this ‘radio party’. One cannot talk about Mozambican theatre without mentioning Adelino Branquinho, Mário Mabjaia, Eliote Alex, Horácio Guiamba and Isabel Jorge, who now, with other actors, help tell what ‘those days of radio’ were like, using careful and pedagogical language, even with a comical tone, in a commendable effort to share with the new generations what the journey of Radio Mozambique was in the country.

The concert revives memories and salutes the great achievements of Radio Mozambique as crucial in building Mozambican identity, through interviews, reports and programs that promote genuinely Mozambican achievements and contribute to the country’s identity.

For this creation, Zé Pires says that it was essential to study history, look for the bases and transfer this story to the stage and transform it into art. For the musician, work of this magnitude would not be possible without a team made up of technicians, artists, among others.

“It’s a dream come true, because I grew up in that environment – watching Fany Pfumo, Alexandre Langa, Mahekwane – and, later, I grew up watching, for example, Stewart”; therefore, “it is a great achievement.”

Zé Pires points out as a challenge the difficulty of interpreting what was designed, but, “from the moment they understand, things flow”, highlights the director of this musical.

And we are witnesses of how each character flowed during an intense three hours, where the marriage between sound and light, between music and theatre warmed the full room, almost overflowing with emotion.

For Mário Mabjaia, one of the main characters in the story, he understands that participating in a musical about a radio that helped us create a revolution and that accompanies us at all times is very special for him.

A musician since he was 12 years old, Ótis is a result of music school, but it was at Radio Mozambique that he trained as a professional musician before heading to Portugal where he is still based today. According to the saxophonist, it was a pleasure to participate in the event and he had a lot of fun and positively appreciates the initiative.

For Chico António, also part of this musical, going back to the past means revisiting his origins. “I went there (on the radio) in 1983 and caught great artists like Alexandre Langa, Zé Mucavel, Zé Guimaraes, Pedro Ben, Wazimbo, Otis, Sox , Milagre Langa and Zevo and I stayed there for 10 years with a hand-selected group. During these years, I learned how to be on stage, as well as how to compose a song and, for me, Radio Mozambique means a university, just like here where we are, at UEM”, he shares.

For the Minister of Culture and Tourism, this show was a brief trip to our origins, and today we live those memories, we dance and sing our old times and, therefore, “I could not be happier”, she confesses.

Eldevina Materula has no doubt that this concert is another opportunity to educate and train new audiences about our history, which is why, in agreement with the MPDC, it was decided to revive the event.

Abuchamo Munhoto believes that events like this help to pass on testimony, knowledge shared from generation to generation. Elvira Viegas agrees that initiatives of this kind should also continue as a way of leaving a legacy for younger people.

Elvira Viegas gave the example of the youngest actor, her grandson, in this case, who asked pertinent questions, questions that perhaps many young people have.

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