Agostinho Neto: o corpo negro africano construindo o Amanhã

Abstract

The poet and politician António Agostinho Neto is one of the most relevant and important figures when discussing the process of anti-colonial struggle that Afro-Caribbean countries went through up until the 20th century. He dedicated his life to the fight for freedom, resistance, and empowerment of the Angolan nation. Through his poetic writing, he facilitated the construction of a politically engaged black body, with poetry as an important ally, providing resistance and strength in the revolutionary struggle. This work aims to analyze the poems in the book "Sacred Hope" (1963) to understand how the African black body is constructed, using aesthetics such as music, dance, and cultural identity of their nation. Thus, the search for freedom is solidified in his poetry by the construction of an empowered individual who takes pride in their origins. Aesthetics are aligned with politics in favor of revolution and become, in many moments just as, if not more, powerful than armed revolution, as it is in literature that many symbolic figures find the value and strength necessary to create and think about a future.