Day of Mozambican Heroes February 3rd 1979

João Craveirinha Jr

Day of Mozambican Heroes February 3rd 1979

Five-colour offset lithograph, DNPP, Maputo

The bound and imprisoned figures in this poster refer to the political prisoners jailed by the colonial secret police (PIDE) during the Armed Struggle, including detainees who died in custody. The image is a detail from the mural Craveirinha designed for Maputo’s Praça dos Heróis (Heroes’ Square, 1979), a site where heroes of the revolution are interred, including presidents Eduardo Mondlane and Samora Machel, and the artist’s uncle, the poet José Craveirinha (1922-2003), who was himself tortured and imprisoned by the PIDE for supporting Frelimo.