Musical activity, show business and post-colonial politics in socialist Maputo, or ‘the multiple sides of a full circle’ (1975–1994)

This article evaluates the configuration of musical practices in Mozambique’s capital city, Maputo, during the ‘socialist single-party period’ (1975–1994), focusing on changes in dancing venues and entertainment shows organized by companies like Produções 1001, Delta Produções, and the state-owned Empresa Moçambicana de Entretenimento (EME), which aimed to centralize all aspects related to música ligeira (literally ‘light music’) in the country. Through fieldwork interviews with politicians, producers, musicians, and archival research, this article elucidates the significance of musical activity and the entertainment industry in shaping the ‘sonorous construction’ of the ‘new Mozambican man’, as envisioned by FRELIMO. It explores numerous topics, including the initial prohibition of many venues in the early years of independence and the subsequent informal reversal of such decisions by 1994.