Homem Novo

There was a time in Mozambique, just after the proclamation of the country’s independence, when re-education camps were responsible for bringing members of the LGBTQIA+ community back into line with Marxist-Leninist revolutionary puritanism. To turn them into “new men”, model citizens of a decolonized society, they received a moral and political “education” that included drug treatment and torture. Yuck Miranda, their compatriot, pays tribute to these almost invisible figures of the country’s history in this solo, which sounds like a cry. The red earth spread across the stage is similar to that which suffocated and covered the tears, dreams, memories and even the bodies of the victims with a weight of silence. As for the music, by beatmaker and DJ Nandele Maguni, it reflects the sonic ambience of that painful moment. Developed in France during a residency at the CND in 2023, Homen Novo was then rehearsed and premiered on Miranda’s native soil, in Maputo. To bear witness, and give life to lost souls.

Source: programme of the CND