Paper short abstract:

As a part of a broader research project on cultural press in colonial Mozambique, my paper is a case study on “A Voz de Moçambique” (1960-1974), a magazine linked to the Association of the Natural-Born of Mozambique.

Paper long abstract:

As a part of a broader research project on cultural press in colonial Mozambique, my paper is a case study on "A Voz de Moçambique" (1960-1974), a magazine linked to the Association of the Natural-Born of Mozambique. I will argue that this magazine depicts a part of the colonial society that could be considered as in-between: between the official ideology and the demand for autonomy. In fact, it was a meeting ground for many intellectuals who opposed the regime, and also for people connected more directly to the FRELIMO.

Given its role in the promotion of writers perceived nowadays as Mozambican national symbols, the magazine is considered essential for the emergence of the national literature (Mendonça, 2012). On the contrary, due to its linkage to the white middle class, both studies on nationalism and on press in Africa, which adopt a political and ideological point of view, have given it less importance (Cabaço, 2007; Ziegler & Asante, 1992).

Using both quantitative and qualitative analysis, I will highlight two very important aspects of the magazine:

• The construction of an image of "racial democracy" through colonial and racial representations using such concepts as "native", "Portuguese", or "local";

• The diffusion of a democratic culture in the cultural section, which cannot be considered apart from the political and informational approach characteristic of the entire magazine.

As a reflection of contradictions in the colonial society, this magazine is a "borderland", crucial for the construction of a pluralistic national identity in Mozambique.