Luanda — Angola is currently working for its "Semba" music style to be inscribed at UNESCO Intangible World Heritage, the Minister of Culture and Tourism, Filipe Zau, said Thursday.

The minister made the statement at the end of the 2nd Ordinary Session of the National Commission for the Safeguarding of World Heritage chaired by the Vice-President of Angola, Esperança da Costa.

The minister said works are currently being conducted with an UNESCO expert, Júlio Sá Rego, who has already visited Angola and with some national musicians and composers.

Semba musical style was declared as National Intangible Heritage by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, as part of the national program of celebrations for the International Day of Monuments and Sites held on April 18, 2023.

Semba is a traditional Angolan music and dance genre that became very popular in the 1950s.

As a musical genre, today's semba is the result of a complex process of fusion and transposition, especially of the guitar, of different rhythmic segments, based fundamentally on percussion, the basic element of African cultures. It has also given rise to various other styles, such as Brazilian samba. EH/FMA/ART/AMP