November 10 – Maputo City Day

Posted on November 10, 2014


Today we celebrate the City of Acacias...

...the Pearl of the Indian Ocean...

...the capital and largest city in Mozambique...

...Maputo!

Maputo used to be named Lourenço Marques, after the Portuguese navigator who explored Mozambique in 1544. When the African nation became independent of Portugal in 1975, not just the city, but also most of the city streets were renamed. The old names were Portuguese heroes and dates important in Portuguese history, and the new names were African languages, revolutionary figures, or pre-colonial names. Most people expected the capital to be named Can Phumo, after a leader in the area before Marques arrived, but instead the capital was named after the Maputo River.

Unfortunately, like many nations, the post-colonial years were extremely tough and included a civil war as varying factions fought for power. However, the area has been pretty stable for more than twenty years now.

One of the important ways that the nation has reached stability and reconciliation is through art. The Associação Núcleo de Arte is a collective of artists that puts on art shows and exchanges with artists from around the world. Some of the artists in this collective transformed weapons into tools and objects of art. The resulting pieces have been displayed in various museums around the world.


The Tree of Life is created out of old weapons,
as you can see in the close ups of the trunk and
a bird, below:

Here are some of the other wonderful things about Maputo:

  • Painter Malangatana Valente Ngwenya










  • Sculptor Alberto Chissano












  • the CFM Railway Station









     
  • the beaches






  • the Central Market


  • Inhaca Island and its coral reefs




Also on this date:




























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