Luanda in Transition

If the economic growth of a country can be measured by the number of cranes at construction sites, the growth in Luanda must be staggering. Almost anywhere in the city, cranes loom overhead and construction sites abound. The civil war left great destruction, but slowly Angola seems to be picking itself up. It is a city of contrasts where ultra modern buildings are neighbors to slums and where elegance meets ramshackle. The downtown area is a mix of new skyscrapers, construction sites and charming Portuguese old buildings, some of which have been abandoned or poorly maintained since the war.

The "Marginal" is a beautiful, renovated waterfront area with a walkway lined with palm trees. People run, cycle or walk every day. The basketball courts are usually full. There are "boot camp" classes and meetings for boy and girl scouts on the weekends. There is an open air concert arena and a skating ramp. This is a prestige project for the government and the use of so much money was contested, but this is one of the few, open-air areas accessible to everyone and safe for pedestrians.

A couple of months ago, a huge area that extends beyond the present "Marginal" was cleared, and by that, I mean bulldozed. One day there was a neighborhood and the next day there wasn't. This area is an extension of the present "Marginal" and was home for many.

From what I read in the newspaper, a semi census was taken of the residents back in October. "Chicala" was comprised of several neighborhoods made of simple dwellings, some concrete, having several bedrooms and bathrooms, to lean-tos with laminate roofs. People had been living there for decades or had been rather recent arrivals to Luanda. Some people say that the inhabitants had appropriated the land illegally. Everyone living in the area was to give information about the size of the household and number of people living in the structure. Then, one day in February, the bulldozers came.

People had to quickly get their belongings and share a pick-up with three other families, and away they went to a new housing project built by the government. I don't know what happened to the families that had already left for work and school, since apparently no one had received notice of when the moving day would be. I imagine that some arrived in the evening to find their homes gone. This was a huge undertaking involving police, the military and many vehicles.

Shared by 4 families

Ensuing reports from the people affected relate that some families were thrilled with the upgrades they received from the government while others were mourning the loss of their homes. Some of the newly built housing had non-functioning bathrooms or broken fixtures and other families claim that they received a much smaller house than promised.

I am amazed at the efficiency of this process; each time I drove by a larger area had been completely cleared of all ruble. I am trying to find out what the land will be used for, but as it borders the bay and ocean, it is prime real estate property. The face of Luanda is changing daily.

Carnival!

March 4 is the official day celebrating carnival in Angola. Schools were closed as were businesses and Luanda started clearing our already on the Friday before as many took advantage of the long holiday weekend. Preparations started weeks ahead with bleachers being mounted on the main avenue where the parade was to take place.

 Angola was one of the main slave providers to Brazil and the captured slaves  took with them their music and religion and that is how the Semba/Samba tradition began in Brazil, an integral part of the Brazilian carnival. The Angolan carnival dates back to the 1850's, and was a huge, spectacular event before the long civil war took its toll on the country. Carnival in Angola is regaining strength each year,  and it is an event for the whole family and all generations.

In my short time in Angola, I have come to realize that music and dance are an integral part of the culture, so I was really looking forward to watching Carnival. Our sources of information were a bit fuzzy, but we finally determined that the parade was to start at 4:00 pm. Our main concern was parking: where and would we get out again? We decided that we would park at a public lot closest to the parade area and see if we could walk to the end of it.

Before we left, we watched the local TV channel, and indeed, the parade had started! We could see the nation's president, José Eduardo Dos Santos, looking very relaxed in a printed, short sleeved shirt watching the festivities from the bleachers with whom I assume is his wife, a beautiful woman wearing dark sun glasses.

As we made for the parade, I was surprised at how quiet our part of town was. Almost no cars, and I did not see anyone dressed up. However, as we got to the "Marginal" area near the water, we could see children  and some adults dressed in face masks and costumes. People were walking in the general direction of the parade. As we made our way, it was still very hot and we knew the walk would be longer that what we had expected.

We met a lovely group of young girls, wearing masks and very curious about who we were and what we were doing. They allowed me to take their picture!

Carnival beauties!

Our next plan was to drive up to a gas station closer to the parade and see if we could park. As we arrived, we could see a float getting ready to go to the area, but there were barricades everywhere and no parking, so we had to capitulate and head back home. It was nice to be out and see that people were enjoying themselves and taking part in this tradition!