"I loved attending the festivals and rituals of my village. When I started school, I was in great shock. What was my life there was forbidden. At that time, my country had not yet achieved independence and the educational system was very repressive. The paddle was used constantly and I was beaten a lot for using my real name, that is, the name given to me in my village. When the country achieved independence in 1975, the new government adopted the concept of a new man; the creation of a national consciousness through culture. That's when versatile artistic groups began to emerge. And I, who had previously been reprimanded for singing and dancing to my songs, also joined this movement. And it was at that moment that I began to cultivate my culture without fear. Artistic groups were created in the neighborhoods and the idea of ​​unifying the Mozambican people through culture led to an intense exchange between the cultural practices of the north and south of the country. That's when I started singing, dancing, and reciting poems.However, shortly after independence, we had another war that lasted for years. We went back to square one. At that time, we didn't sing or dance, and food was scarce."