The 11th National Cultural Festival of Mozambique (XI Festival National da Cultura) has opened in Matola, in the Maputo Province, Mozambique.
The biennial event was opened by the President of the country H.E Felipe Jacinto Nyusi in the company of visiting President of Indonesia Joko Widodo as well as the Minister of Culture and Tourism Eldervina Materula.
Organised by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the three-day festival is the biggest cultural artistic event in the country, which in the next days exhibit different Mozambican cultural expressions. Among many, the main objective of the festival is to preserve, and develop the arts, culture and traditions of the different Mozambican communities, create a platform for interaction and exchange and dissemination of the rich and diverse cultural heritage of the country, placing it at the service of society and progress.
The mega event has more than 1500 artists from across the country, who will exhibit various artistic expressions, namely: visual arts, handicrafts, music, cinema, dance, gastronomy, photography, fashion, literature, theatre and other manifestations imbued with an inestimable symbolic value and, impregnated with secular knowledge that, more than providing fun and leisure, participate in the socialization process.
This year’s event is held under the theme “Culture, the Force that Unites the Nation towards Development”.
The groups are drawn from the 11 provinces of Mozambique namely Cabo Delgado, Gaza, Inhambane, Manica, Maputo City, Maputo, Nampula, Niassa, Sofala, Tete and Zambezia. In addition to the provinces, groups were invited delegations from Canada, Brazil, Eswatini and South Africa.
It is expected that the event will serve as a moment to reinforce cultural relations between Mozambican and foreign delegations.
The pomp and pageantry displayed by the performing groups got the patrons roaring from the word go at the packed Black Bulls Association field, in Tchumene 5000-seater stadium. On display on the opening day was the rich artistic mosaic of the different phases of the national culture festival.
The village of the event was replete with traditional singing and dancing, choral singing, light music, gastronomy, plastic arts, poetry, and theater as some of the cultural manifestations that make up the province’s strong dish.
In his address to the packed and enthusiastic patrons, President Nyusi urged Mozambicans to use the rich cultural diversity to develop and spur national unity. It added that the people of Mozambique should be proud of the unparalleled tapestry of culture which it has to offer.
The Guest of honour at this year’s event was President Joko of Indonesia. He said he was deeply honoured to have witnessed the rich display of Mozambique culture during his two-day official working tour of the Southern African country. He reiterated the power of culture and said ‘’Let’s use cultural diversity to strengthen and spur development for our people
A mosaic of President Felipe Jacinto Nyusi was presented to him at the start of the event.
The XI National Festival of Culture is a mechanism for implementing policies and strategies contained in various reflections focused on culture as an important dimension of development.
In its varied expressions, the National Culture Festival reflects the Mozambican socio-cultural mosaic, one of the greatest riches of Mozambicans and which proudly distinguishes Mozambique in the concert of nations.
“It is the highest moment of celebration and exaltation of Mozambican culture, in which the rich and diverse millenary cultural traditions reflect the greatness and strength of Mozambique, at the same time that they constitute a prodigious contribution to the history and civilizations of Humanity”.
The activities of the XI edition of the FNC will take place in the following places: Campo do Black Bulls; Citadel; Matola City Council; Poets Park;
