Viriato da Cruz

Viriato Francisco Clemente da Cruz was born on March 25, 1928, in Porto Amboim, Cwanza Sul. In 1948 in Luanda, he launched the revolutionary literary movement Movimento dos Novos Intelectuais de Angola under the rallying cry 'Vamos Descobrir Angola!', reclaiming African vernacular identity from Portuguese assimilation.

His poems, including Namoro and Makulusu, became national classics. Escaping to Paris in 1957, he co-founded the MPLA and served as its first Secretary-General, organizing the clandestine liberation movement. Following ideological splits within the anti-colonial front, he moved to Beijing in 1966, where he lived in exile until his death in 1973.