The famous jazz musician of the United States, Gregory Hutchinson, visited Luanda, the historic capital of Angola, which will soon be celebrating its 450th anniversary.
Before the arrival of the Portuguese in 1575, Luanda was the trading post of the Kongo and Ndongo kingdoms. Today, 5 centuries later, Luanda rediscovers its history, embraces it and faces it. The city hopes to become one of the most historic cities on the African continent, especially for the Angolan diaspora.
A kind of homecoming takes place in one of Luanda’s cultural centers. American drummer Gregory Hutchinson plays with names like Betty Carter, Wynton Marsalis, Joe Henderson and John Scofield.
Hutchinson is performing his concert in his ancestral land tonight. Millions of people from present-day Angola were taken to America as slaves over the centuries. The story also chronicles the resistance against the colonialists and the rebirth of what is now Angola’s capital.
Luanda’s History of the Slave Trade Hutchinson also visited the National Slavery Museum, which displays the artifacts and horrors of a trade with unimaginable victims.
TAC Tour Angola founder Carlos Bumba helped him connect with history.
Luanda is a city that has also witnessed the history of a struggle against Portuguese colonialists led by Angola’s most famous queen.
Queen Njinga first visited Luanda 400 years ago, in 1622. Her brother, then King of Ndongo, Angola, sent Princess Njinga there to negotiate with the Portuguese governor over slavery. The Queen would then spend the rest of her life defying the Portuguese.
Architect Paulo Furtado, manager of Luanda’s Ingombota district, says that’s why Queen Njinga Street became a major tourist attraction after the dock’s renovation.