Rebel Up SebCat’s Afro Tuga ‘Hand of Timba’ mixtape

This mixtape was made by Rebel Up SebCat for Celeste Mariposa‘s radio show Radio Balanço in Lisboa (Vodafone FM) during the April lockdown, as the Festa Afro Tuga party on 10 April in Recyclart got cancelled due to the obvious. The mix is mostly filled with music from the past & present of the Afro Portuguese PALOP scene but not exclusively, with tunes from other African countries and the wider African diaspora included as well, from semba to afrohouse, kuduro, funana and more. Tracklisting can be found in the mixtape comments.

The image used is of the Hand of Timba monument at the Pidjiguiti docks in Porto de Bissau, Guiné-Bissau. The Pidjiguiti massacre was a dock worker strike that took place on 3 August 1959 in which the Portuguese colonial authorities killed about 50 people and put the blame on revolutionary party PAIGC (Partido Africano para a Independência da Guiné e Cabo Verde). 3 August is now a public day of remembrance in Guinea-Bissau. Near the docks, a large black fist known as the Hand of Timba was erected as a memorial to those killed.

The current political situation in Guiné-Bissau far from good, with President Umaro Sissoco Embalo having taken power via a military coup earlier this year just before the COVID-19 crisis. Soldiers loyal to Embalo took control of national radio and public television buildings, and several public buildings including the government palace and the Palace of Justice to impose their power and ushering a new era of censorship and political oppression.