Luanda – The Angolan musician and historian Mário Clington passed away last Tuesday in Luanda, victim of an illness, the Angolan Culture Ministry has announced.

According to a condolence note from the Culture Ministry, Mário Clington, who was born in 1938, was one of the emblematic figures of the Angolan music and a committed nationalist, having been the founder of famous bands such as Escola de Samba, Fogo Negro and Gongo.

 
Mário Clington also founded in France, where he lived for over forty years, the Afro-Brazilian group named Batuki, alongside the renowned Angolan musician Barceló de Carvalho “Bonga”.

“His physical disappearance impoverishes deeply the national artistic world, leaving a big void in the Angolan society”, reads the note.