The seventh edition of the ‘Literatura-Mundo do Sal’ festival begins Thursday on the Cape Verdean island, honoring four Lusophone writers with a program dedicated to the 50th anniversaries of independence for Cape Verde, Angola, Mozambique, and São Tomé and Príncipe.
This year marks the independence anniversaries for Portuguese-speaking African countries—except Guinea-Bissau, which is celebrating 52 years. The festival will honor writers Agostinho Neto, the first president of Angola; Alda Espírito Santo, a pioneer of São Toméan literature; Onésimo Silveira, a Cape Verdean writer and translator; and Noémia de Sousa, a Mozambican poet, as announced by the publisher Rosa de Porcelana, which organizes the event in partnership with the Sal Island Municipality and scientific curator Inocência Mata.
In its seventh edition, the festival runs from Thursday to Sunday with the aim of establishing the island as a literary reference in Cape Verde and abroad, as well as encouraging debate and reflection.
The event also seeks to welcome new voices to literature and promote dialogue among authors, translators, and researchers from various countries.
This year’s festival features 10 Cape Verdean writers and professors, along with 11 international participants from Germany, Angola, Brazil, Italy, Mozambique, Portugal, and São Tomé and Príncipe, as well as students from Sal Island’s secondary schools.
The opening session on Thursday includes readings and author visits.
The festival first took place in 2017, honoring Cape Verdean poet Corsino Fortes and Portuguese writer José Saramago.
