Performing a culture, staging the revolution: Choral singing and traditional music as nation-building tropes in post-colonial Mozambique

This article aims to evaluate the cultural policy of Mozambique's Liberation Front (FRELIMO), focusing on music and dance during the liberation war and transitional period (1964–1975), and during the first 5 years after independence from Portugal (1975–1980). For the first period, we will focus on a repertoire entitled ‘revolutionary anthems’ and for the second, we will analyse Mozambique's sonorous representations in three national and international events: FESTAC77 (1977), the First National Festival of Popular Dance (1978) and the First National Festival of Song and Traditional Music (1980). Building on fieldwork data gathered through several interviews with politicians, radio broadcasters, producers, musicians and archival work, we aim to explain the significance of musical performance for the ‘sonorous construction’ of the ‘new Mozambican man’ project, as envisioned by FRELIMO.