Elias Diá Kimuezo

Singer and musician from Angola, Elias Diá Kimuezo was born at the Marçal neighborhood, Luanda, with the name of Elias José Francisco, on January 2nd, 1936. At the age of 7, he becomes an orphan, a fact that forces him later, at age 12 to go live at his grandmother's house, in the Sambizanga neighborhood, where he learns to communicate fluently, in his mother tongue, the Kimbundo. His constant attendance at the Kimúngua Samba, in the Bungo area of ​​Luanda, where several workers from the sea port and the railways who played and danced Kinganje lived, made him discover, at the age of 15, his artistic vocation, that leads him to integrate in the "Turma do Margoso", like main vocalist and player of bate-bate. Two years later, he moved to the "Os Kizombas" group, which at that time played in the Malanjinho Room in the Sambizanga neighborhood. Over time he has been improving himself in the art of singing, and becoming more and more known. In 1969, the Folkloric Festival of the Portuguese Provinces took place in Portugal, and the same was invited, with the Rebita group of Mestre Geraldo and the Marimbeiros de Duque de Bragança, from Malange, to represent the Province of Angola. His artistic performance, like that of the other artists, deserved high praise from critics and local cultural analysts, so he was given the proposal, accepted promptly, to record two "singles" for the publisher Valentim de Carvalho. The following recordings were made: "Mualunga", "Resurreição", "Muenhu Ua Muto" and "Zum-Zum", which had the participation of José Adelino Barceló de Carvalho (aka Bonga), Rui Mingas, Teta Lando and the Marimbeiros do Duque de Bragança. The launch of the works, with much pomp and circumstance, took place at Cine-Restauração, one of the most chic cinemas in Luanda. The success grew day after day, and in this, Elias dya Kimuezu, is awarded with the title of "Best Performer of the Angolan Song". This award was given annually to the artists who stood out in the Province of Angola, by the CITA-Angola Information and Tourism Center. In 1972, in compensation, for his selfless work in favor of music, he received a statuette referring to "11 more of the city of Luanda", which awarded the eleven most outstanding figures in the various professional and social areas in the city of Luanda. In 1974, as a result of the intense mobilization work, he was arrested with his younger brother "Chico Suiza" and sent immediately to "São Nicolau" - Campo I das Salinas, barrack III, where they left after clarifying the decolonization process and the system should be obliged to deal with the release of all prisoners, especially those in the political arena. During the creation of the "Agrupamento Kissanguela", by Mário Rui Silva, it was Elias Diá Kimuezo, who suggested the name of the same, given the moment that was lived and the work that the group was intended to produce. Since the mid-sixties, Elias Diá Kimuezo, for the quality of his work and the constancy of his performance, was considered "The King of Angolan Music".