Carlos de Aniceto "Liceu" Vieira Dias (1 May 1919 – 19 August 1994) was an Angolan musician and anti-colonial activist, considered to be the father of Angolan popular music. A member of the Angolan musical group

Ngola Ritmos Ngola Ritmos was a musical group created in 1947 in the home of Manuel dos Passos by a group of young men called Domingos Van-Dúnem, Mário da Silva Araújo, Francisco Machado, Liceu Vieira Días and Nino Ndongo who formerly comprised a group nam ...

, he was considered was considered an exemplary guitarist and singer. Active in the struggle for an independent

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

, he was one of the founding members of the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA).

Biography

Liceu's parents, José Vieira Dias and Jaquenita do Aniceto de Carvalho, were originally from northern Angola and were of

Kongo Congo or The Congo may refer to either of two countries that border the Congo River in central Africa: * Democratic Republic of the Congo, the larger country to the southeast, capital Kinshasa, formerly known as Zaire, sometimes referred to a ...

origin. They migrated to

Luanda Luanda () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city in Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major Angola#Economy, industrial, Angola#Culture, cultural and Angola#Demographics, urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atl ...

, where Liceu was born on 1 May 1919.Liceu Vieira Dias e o N’gola Ritmos: música e resistência anticolonial em Angola
Por Dentro da África. 31 January 2017. Liceu was one of the couples ten children, the others being Fernando Torres Vieira Dias, Domingas Torres Vieira Dias, José Vieira Dias Filho, Antónia Diniz de Aniceto Vieira Dias, Joaquim Militão Vieira Dias, Zita Vieira Dias, Manuel Helder Vieira Dias, Novato Vieira Dias, and Bernardo Vieira Dias. During his youth he was a sportsman, being both in athletics and in football as a player for Clube Atlético de Luanda.Nascimento, Washington Santos. 2016
Liceu Vieira Dias e o N’gola Ritmos: Música e Resistência Anticolonial em Angola
ODEERE 1 (1):75-98. His nickname "Liceu" came from the Liceu Salvador Correia in Luanda, which had been inaugurated a little before his birth. The nickname was part of a larger trend at that time to name children in relation to some relevant fact or event that had occurred around the time of their birth. He began his musical career while a government employee at the

National Bank of Angola The National Bank of Angola ( pt, Banco Nacional de Angola, links=) is the central bank of Angola. It is state-owned and the Government of Angola is the sole shareholder. The bank is based in Luanda, and was created in 1926, but traces its ances ...

in the 1930s, a position he held until he was imprisoned in 1959. He was forced out of the institution in 1962, after a disciplinary process claimed that he frequently did not show up for work despite having been imprisoned during that time period. Liceu was one of the founders of Ngola Ritmos in 1947. The musical group was founded at the house of Manuel dos Passos in the Bairro Operário neighborhood of Luanda. It was founded by Liceu, Nino Mário Araújo “Ndongo“, and Domingos Van-Dúnen. Soon after forming the group, they were joined by Francisco Machado, Lourdes Van-Dúnem, and Belita Palma. With melodies played on acoustic guitars, they also played the dicanza and ngoma drums in their songs. Their style of music became popular from the 1940s to the 1960s, largely in urban areas that were sympathetic to their political and nationalist messages. Liceu and the group have since become known as pioneers in Angolan popular music, having also sung in Kimbundu versus the colonially imposed Portuguese. Liceu was also one of the co-founders of the Movement for the Independence of Angola (MIA) and MPLA. He was later imprisoned for more than a decade at Tarrafal concentration camp in Cape Verde, being implicated in the Trial of Fifty. By the time he had left prison in 1969, Liceu attempted to reunite the members of Ngola Ritmos again in the 1970s, but encountered major difficulties due to political persecution. They were effectively blocked out of public performances or political activities. After the war for Angola's independence ended in 1975, the subsequent

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

brought a rapid decline to musical productions in Angola. In 1978, Ngola Ritmos made their last public appearance with all of their members. Liceu began performing solo afterwards. Liceu died on 19 August 1994 in Lisbon, Portugal.

Personal life

Liceu married Maria Natércia de Almeida Vieira Dias in 1949, having 4 children with her: Carlitos Vieira Dias, Luzia Zizi, Ferdinando "Xinito" Vieira Dias, and Felipe de Nery "Pino" Vieira Dias. His nephew, Ruy Mingas, recorded the song "Homenagem a Liceu Vieira Dias" as a tribute to Liceu. Mingas also wrote the national anthem of Angola, Angola Avante. Liceu's family members also include Ruy's brother

André Mingas André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew, and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries. It is a variation ...

, who is also a singer and composer; Saíde Mingas, an economist who became a major leader in the MPLA during the Civil War; and linguist and investigator Amélia Mingas. His other nephews include Hélder Vieira Dias, a top military general in Angola, and

Filomeno do Nascimento Vieira Dias Filomeno do Nascimento Vieira Dias (born 18 April 1958) is an Angolan prelate of the Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Ch ...

, the current Archbishop of Luanda. He was also related to fellow anticolonial leader and nationalist

Mário Pinto de Andrade Mário Coelho Pinto de Andrade (21 August 1928 – 26 August 1990) was an Angolan poet and politician. Biography He was born in Golungo Alto, in Portuguese Angola, and studied philosophy at the University of Lisbon and sociology at the Sorb ...

Honors

In 2009, the documentary "Estórias para a História da Música Angolana", by Mário Rui Silva, was released, which classifies Liceu as a legendary figure in Angolan popular music and as one of the most important artists in the country's history. The film "O Lendário Tio Liceu e os N'gola Ritmos", by , received the Best Documentary Award at the International Film Festival of Luanda in 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vieira Dias, Liceu 1919 births 1994 deaths Angolan Kongo people Musicians from Luanda MPLA politicians 20th-century Angolan male singers Semba singers Angolan independence activists Angolan revolutionaries Vieira Dias family