José Freire
3rd February 1975, Rovuma - Maputo
Two-colour offset lithograph, Minerva Central, Lourenço Marques
Mondlane’s portrait is set here against an image of the masses, delineated by Rovuma and Maputo, the rivers at the far north and south of Mozambique. The poster dates from the Period of Transition between the end of Frelimo’s Luta Armada (Armed Struggle) on April 25th 1974, and Mozambican Independence Day on 25th June 1975, a time when Frelimo was looking to foster national unity in anticipation of independence. For Mozambicans, the excitement of the Period of Transition was laced with anxiety about reactionary violence by white settlers.
