Publication details
A massa a levedar: A imagem de Angola e Mocambique no Diário de Miguel Torga
| Title in English | A rising dough: The image of Angola and Mozambique in Miguel Torga´s Diary |
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| Year of publication | 2015 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | In our talk, we intend to reflect Miguel Torga´s impressions from his travel to Angola and Mozambique which the author captured in his Diary, cultivated between 1932 and 1994. Torga, who lived an important part of his adolescence in Brazil (1920-1925), weeding, herding cattle or picking coffee beans at his uncle´s farm, was especially sensitive to the conditions of oppression, lack of freedom, intolerance and humiliation. In this regard, we will see Torga pondering about the former Portuguese Empire, finding contrasts in the Portugal of his time, rejecting wars that plagued the territories of the Portuguese Africa, and commenting on the decolonization process. An important portion of this thematic strand was created during his trip to Angola and Mozambique in 1973 in search of the so called Discovery myth. However, he became progressively disappointed by the lack of humanity, respect for difference, and the problematic interaction between the different ethnic and social groups we found there. Therefore, we hope to provide hints about Torga´s understanding of the decolonization process, cultural respect and transmission of ethical values based on his diary entries. |