Luanda's Musseques: Semba Music, Kizomba & Urban Culture
Venture into Luanda's musseque townships — the birthplace of semba and kizomba music that spread across the Portuguese-speaking world
- 1
Sambizanga Musseque
The oldest of Luanda's townships gave its name to an acclaimed Angolan film — a dense neighborhood of corrugated iron and concrete where Luanda's soul resides
- 2
Semba Music Club
The traditional Angolan dance music that gave birth to Brazilian samba — performed in neighborhood clubs on Friday nights with accordion and percussion
- 3
Kizomba dance lesson
Angola's modern dance export — kizomba — is taught in Luanda's dance studios, a sensual slow style that swept Europe through the Angolan diaspora
- 4
Roque Santeiro Market Area
The legendary informal market that once occupied a large site by the river — its spirit lives on in the surrounding neighborhood's traders and street vendors
- 5
Luanda Street Food Evening
Muamba de galinha chicken stew with palm oil and okra, calulu dried fish with sweet potato leaves and funje corn porridge from street vendors
- 6
Cuca Beer Factory Area
The legendary Cuca beer — Angola's most beloved lager — is brewed in Luanda; the neighborhood around the factory has a working-class beer garden culture