Lubango — The theater group "Luzes ao Palco", from the province of Huíla, will represent Angola for the 3rd time at the 7th Edition of the International Performing Arts Festival "Festival Tanto Mar", in Portugal, with the play "Mares e Marés" (Seas and Tides).
The 7th edition of the Tanto Mar Festival will take place in Loulé, Portugal, between the 26th and 30th of the current month, an event that celebrates the Portuguese language and brings together groups from various countries, with a program focused on theater, performances and animated forms.
The Huíla group, with 18 years of existence and more than 20 theatrical pieces in its portfolio, all of social intervention, returns to Portuguese stages after previous participations in 2004 and 2025, reinforcing the presence of Angolan culture beyond borders, according to its artistic director, Nelson Dongala.
In Monday (18) statements to ANGOP, in Lubango, Nelson Dongala stated that participation in the event represents an opportunity to promote national performing arts, as well as to enhance Angolan cultural identity among international audiences.
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As part of the farewell agenda and preview of their participation, the group will present the play "Between Seas and Tides" next Friday, the 22nd, at the ISCED-Huíla Amphitheater, the play that will be taken to the festival.
The writer and director of the group also emphasized that the work portrays the reality of a village under Portuguese colonial occupation in the 19th century, exploring cultural, spiritual, and social conflicts experienced by the characters Ndala, Otchaly, and Samba.
According to the synopsis, Ndala emerges as a young spiritual leader deeply connected to African traditions, while Otchaly symbolizes female resistance against colonial domination. Samba, driven by ambition and unrequited love, allies herself with the colonizers and contributes to Ndala's being sent into the slave trade to Brazil.
The cast includes actors Kassandra Pascoal, Letícia Muty, and Justino Carmona, while the lighting is the responsibility of Gervásio Gourgel.
In this logistical preparation phase for the trip to Portugal, the production of the Luzes ao Palco group informed that it remains open to receiving support and sponsorships from public and private entities, aiming to ensure a dignified representation of Angola abroad.
The group celebrates 19 years of activity in July of the current year.
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