The father figure as a representative of Portuguese colonialism in Africa

two ways of reframing childhood memory about the role of the father

Abstract

Writer isabela figueiredo (lourenço marques, mozambique, 1963) and documentary filmmaker diana andringa (dundo, angola, 1947) share the common experience of being born and raised in former portuguese colonies in africa. having lived in portugal for a long time, both have a strong emotional connection with the lands where they were born. additionally, they have produced works dedicated to the memory of their parents, which deal with recollections of their childhoods in colonial territories where exploitation and various forms of violence were widespread against the local populations. despite belonging to different social classes – figueiredo’s father was an electrician, while andringa’s father was an engineer –, both men experienced gender and racial privileges within an oppressive colonial structure rooted in racism, which, in turn, reflected the policies of the metropolis. Thus, this article aims to discuss how the authors of Notebook of colonial memories (FIGUEIREDO, 2009) and the documentary Dundo, colonial memory (ANDRINGA, 2009) address the memories of their respective fathers, men who represented, in different degrees, personifications of the Portuguese colonialism in Africa.