--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The official independence celebration was…" description: "\"The official independence celebration was going to be held over four or five days, and a group of journalists from all over the world was allowed to fl..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fd/ryszard-kapuscinski-4233_angola_the-official-independence-celebration-wa_8745.jpg" --- # The official independence celebration was going to be held… ![“The official independence celebration was going to be held over four or five days, and a group of journalists from all over the world was allowed to fly in, because Angola was closed otherwise.” quote by Ryszard Kapuscinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fd/ryszard-kapuscinski-4233_angola_the-official-independence-celebration-wa_8745.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fd/ryszard-kapuscinski-4233_angola_the-official-independence-celebration-wa_8745.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fd/ryszard-kapuscinski-4233_angola_the-official-independence-celebration-wa_8745.jpg) > “The official independence celebration was going to be held over four or five days, and a group of journalists from all over the world was allowed to fly in, because Angola was closed otherwise.” [Ryszard Kapuscinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryszard-kapuscinski/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights how Angola's political isolation forced the regime to temporarily open its borders for a brief, orchestrated media event, exposing the contrast between official celebration and everyday reality. **In simple terms:** State‑controlled openness for propaganda Key Takeaway Media access can be a façade Themes political theater media manipulation authoritarian control national image propaganda Mood critical cynical observational Type observation political commentary historical note When to use this quote - covering a national holiday - reporting on a closed country - investigating government PR - documenting foreign press visits Key Concepts state media journalist access public perception international optics Practical Applications - journalistic analysis - policy brief on media freedom Questions to Reflect On - How does limited access shape narratives? - What are the risks of relying on staged events for truth? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Angola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/angola/) [Angola Closed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/angola-closed-344346/) [Celebration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/celebration/) [Five](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/five/) [Fly Angola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fly-angola-344347/) [Four](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/four/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Groups](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/groups/) [Independence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/independence/) [Independence Celebration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/independence-celebration-344348/) [Journalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalism/) [Journalist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalist/) [Official Independence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/official-independence-344349/) [Sea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sea/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [I remember that during the period leading up to independence in Angola in 1975, I was the only correspondent there at all for three months.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryszard-kapuscinski/i-remember-that-during-the-period-leading-up-to-independence-in/) [Ryszard Kapuscinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryszard-kapuscinski/) > [The evening sky was streaked with purple, the color of torn plums, and a light rain had started to fall when I came to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-evening-sky-was-streaked-with-purple-the-color-of-torn-plums-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't know anything about Angola, but Angola's in trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-barkley/i-don-t-know-anything-about-angola-but-angola-s-in-trouble/) [Charles Barkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-barkley/) > [The role that Cuba played and the lives of those 2,077 Cubans, whose mothers and families mourn for having lost their children in Africa,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-castro-espin/the-role-that-cuba-played-and-the-lives-of-those-2-077-cubans-whose/) [Alejandro Castro Espin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-castro-espin/) > [As Miss Angola, I've already done a lot to help my people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leila-lopes/as-miss-angola-i-ve-already-done-a-lot-to-help-my-people/) [Leila Lopes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leila-lopes/) > [There was always news coming back to the quarter about someone who had been killed or sent to prison for killing someone else: Snowball,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulysses-s-grant/there-was-always-news-coming-back-to-the-quarter-about-someone-who/) [Ulysses S. Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulysses-s-grant/) > [I would like to pass into history as the man of the economic miracle of Angola... That's my mission.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joao-lourenco/i-would-like-to-pass-into-history-as-the-man-of-the-economic-miracle/) [Joao Lourenco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joao-lourenco/) > [The tragedy of civil wars in countries like Angola and Mozambique is that they left many civilians maimed. Poverty is the reason HIV/AIDS spread…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-makeba/the-tragedy-of-civil-wars-in-countries-like-angola-and-mozambique-is/) [Miriam Makeba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-makeba/) > [“To understand our world, we must use a revolving globe and look at the earth from various vantage points. If we do so, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryszard-kapuscinski/to-understand-our-world-we-must-use-a-revolving-globe-and-look-at-the/) [Ryszard Kapuściński](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryszard-kapuscinski/) > [“In the Portuguese colony of Angola, during the closing decades of the nineteenth century, no contract laborer who went to the offshore island of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/in-the-portuguese-colony-of-angola-during-the-closing-decades-of-the/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [When the nuclear weapons were sent to the racist South African government, where a few million white people subjugated more than 13 million black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-castro-espin/when-the-nuclear-weapons-were-sent-to-the-racist-south-african/) [Alejandro Castro Espin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-castro-espin/) > [Over the years, the diamond industry has had a devastating impact in countries such as Sierra Leone, Angola and the Congo, where profits from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheherazade-goldsmith/over-the-years-the-diamond-industry-has-had-a-devastating-impact-in/) [Sheherazade Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheherazade-goldsmith/) > [Nineteen-seventy-nine had been a year of American setbacks around the globe. Before the year began, Cuban troops were already roaming Angola, and a pro-Communist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/nineteen-seventy-nine-had-been-a-year-of-american-setbacks-around-the/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [Cuba forces in Angola gave a real shot in the arm to the liberation movements, and it also was a lesson to the white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/cuba-forces-in-angola-gave-a-real-shot-in-the-arm-to-the-liberation/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The United States is a very important country to us in the international context. But on other hand, Angola is also important to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joao-lourenco/the-united-states-is-a-very-important-country-to-us-in-the/) [Joao Lourenco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joao-lourenco/) ## More by Ryszard Kapuscinski > [We have such a mixture now, such a fusion of different genres.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryszard-kapuscinski/we-have-such-a-mixture-now-such-a-fusion-of-different-genres/) [Ryszard Kapuscinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryszard-kapuscinski/) > [“Here is an oral tradition, legends passed from mouth to mouth, a communal myth created invariably at the base of the mango tree in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryszard-kapuscinski/here-is-an-oral-tradition-legends-passed-from-mouth-to-mouth-a/) [Ryszard Kapuściński](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryszard-kapuscinski/) > [He killed his enemies because he was afraid they would kill him. Amin ordered entire tribes to be put to death, because he feared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryszard-kapuscinski/he-killed-his-enemies-because-he-was-afraid-they-would-kill-him-amin/) [Ryszard Kapuscinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryszard-kapuscinski/) > [Money changes all the iron rules into rubber bands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryszard-kapuscinski/money-changes-all-the-iron-rules-into-rubber-bands/) [Ryszard Kapuscinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryszard-kapuscinski/) > [More than anything, one is struck by the light. Light everywhere. Brightness everywhere. Everywhere, the sun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryszard-kapuscinski/more-than-anything-one-is-struck-by-the-light-light-everywhere/) [Ryszard Kapuscinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryszard-kapuscinski/) > [The Cold War in Africa is one of the darkest, most disgraceful pages in contemporary history, and everybody ought to be ashamed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryszard-kapuscinski/the-cold-war-in-africa-is-one-of-the-darkest-most-disgraceful-pages/) [Ryszard Kapuscinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryszard-kapuscinski/) > [Our salvation is in striving to achieve what we know we'll never achieve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryszard-kapuscinski/our-salvation-is-in-striving-to-achieve-what-we-know-we-ll-never/) [Ryszard Kapuscinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryszard-kapuscinski/) > [I remember in 1978 meeting two Ugandan captains in the hotel talking Russian. They had been educated in Moscow and since they came from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryszard-kapuscinski/i-remember-in-1978-meeting-two-ugandan-captains-in-the-hotel-talking/) [Ryszard Kapuscinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryszard-kapuscinski/) > [How do cultures differ from one another? Above all, in their customs. Tell me how you dress, how you act, what are your habits,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryszard-kapuscinski/how-do-cultures-differ-from-one-another-above-all-in-their-customs/) [Ryszard Kapuscinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryszard-kapuscinski/) > [“on war and conquest: in the realm of human affairs one also needs a pretext. it is important to give it the rank of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryszard-kapuscinski/on-war-and-conquest-in-the-realm-of-human-affairs-one-also-needs-a/) [Ryszard Kapuscinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryszard-kapuscinski/) > [In the tropics the white feels weakened, or downright weak, whence comes the heightened tendency to outbursts of aggression. People who are polite, modest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryszard-kapuscinski/in-the-tropics-the-white-feels-weakened-or-downright-weak-whence/) [Ryszard Kapuscinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryszard-kapuscinski/) > [Pack the one bag. Unpack it, pack it, unpack it, pack it: passeport, ticket, book, taxi, airport, check-in, beer, announcement, stairs, airplane, fasten seat-belt,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryszard-kapuscinski/pack-the-one-bag-unpack-it-pack-it-unpack-it-pack-it-passeport-ticket/) [Ryszard Kapuscinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryszard-kapuscinski/) > [Do not be misled by the fact that you are at liberty and relatively free; that for the moment you are not under lock…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryszard-kapuscinski/do-not-be-misled-by-the-fact-that-you-are-at-liberty-and-relatively/) [Ryszard Kapuscinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryszard-kapuscinski/) > [I'll tell you what colonial experience is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryszard-kapuscinski/i-ll-tell-you-what-colonial-experience-is/) [Ryszard Kapuscinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryszard-kapuscinski/) > [My writing is a combination of three elements. The first is travel: not travel like a tourist, but travel as exploration. The second is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryszard-kapuscinski/my-writing-is-a-combination-of-three-elements-the-first-is-travel-not/) [Ryszard Kapuscinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryszard-kapuscinski/) [Explore all 88 Ryszard Kapuscinski quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryszard-kapuscinski/) ## More Angola quotes > [The United States is a very important country to us in the international context. But on other hand, Angola is also important to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joao-lourenco/the-united-states-is-a-very-important-country-to-us-in-the/) [Joao Lourenco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joao-lourenco/) > [Cuba forces in Angola gave a real shot in the arm to the liberation movements, and it also was a lesson to the white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/cuba-forces-in-angola-gave-a-real-shot-in-the-arm-to-the-liberation/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Nineteen-seventy-nine had been a year of American setbacks around the globe. Before the year began, Cuban troops were already roaming Angola, and a pro-Communist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/nineteen-seventy-nine-had-been-a-year-of-american-setbacks-around-the/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [Over the years, the diamond industry has had a devastating impact in countries such as Sierra Leone, Angola and the Congo, where profits from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheherazade-goldsmith/over-the-years-the-diamond-industry-has-had-a-devastating-impact-in/) [Sheherazade Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheherazade-goldsmith/) > [When the nuclear weapons were sent to the racist South African government, where a few million white people subjugated more than 13 million black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-castro-espin/when-the-nuclear-weapons-were-sent-to-the-racist-south-african/) [Alejandro Castro Espin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-castro-espin/) > [“In the Portuguese colony of Angola, during the closing decades of the nineteenth century, no contract laborer who went to the offshore island of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/in-the-portuguese-colony-of-angola-during-the-closing-decades-of-the/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“To understand our world, we must use a revolving globe and look at the earth from various vantage points. If we do so, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryszard-kapuscinski/to-understand-our-world-we-must-use-a-revolving-globe-and-look-at-the/) [Ryszard Kapuściński](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryszard-kapuscinski/) > [The tragedy of civil wars in countries like Angola and Mozambique is that they left many civilians maimed. Poverty is the reason HIV/AIDS spread…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-makeba/the-tragedy-of-civil-wars-in-countries-like-angola-and-mozambique-is/) [Miriam Makeba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-makeba/) > [I would like to pass into history as the man of the economic miracle of Angola... That's my mission.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joao-lourenco/i-would-like-to-pass-into-history-as-the-man-of-the-economic-miracle/) [Joao Lourenco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joao-lourenco/) > [There was always news coming back to the quarter about someone who had been killed or sent to prison for killing someone else: Snowball,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulysses-s-grant/there-was-always-news-coming-back-to-the-quarter-about-someone-who/) [Ulysses S. Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulysses-s-grant/) > [As Miss Angola, I've already done a lot to help my people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leila-lopes/as-miss-angola-i-ve-already-done-a-lot-to-help-my-people/) [Leila Lopes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leila-lopes/) > [The role that Cuba played and the lives of those 2,077 Cubans, whose mothers and families mourn for having lost their children in Africa,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-castro-espin/the-role-that-cuba-played-and-the-lives-of-those-2-077-cubans-whose/) [Alejandro Castro Espin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-castro-espin/) > [I don't know anything about Angola, but Angola's in trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-barkley/i-don-t-know-anything-about-angola-but-angola-s-in-trouble/) [Charles Barkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-barkley/) > [The evening sky was streaked with purple, the color of torn plums, and a light rain had started to fall when I came to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-evening-sky-was-streaked-with-purple-the-color-of-torn-plums-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Women in Africa, generally a lot needs to be done for women. Women are not being educated, not only in Angola but my trip…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mia-farrow/women-in-africa-generally-a-lot-needs-to-be-done-for-women-women-are/) [Mia Farrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mia-farrow/) [Browse all 24 Angola quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/angola/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The official independence celebration was going to be held over four or five days, and a group of journalists from all over the world was allowed to fly in, because Angola was closed otherwise.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ryszard Kapuscinski" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryszard-kapuscinski/the-official-independence-celebration-was-going-to-be-held-over-four/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Angola" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryszard-kapuscinski/the-official-independence-celebration-was-going-to-be-held-over-four/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fd/ryszard-kapuscinski-4233_angola_the-official-independence-celebration-wa_8745.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fd/ryszard-kapuscinski-4233_angola_the-official-independence-celebration-wa_8745.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fd/ryszard-kapuscinski-4233_angola_the-official-independence-celebration-wa_8745.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The official independence celebration was going to be held over four or five days, and a group of…” — Ryszard Kapuscinski", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ryszard Kapuscinski", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryszard-kapuscinski/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The official independence celebration was going...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryszard-kapuscinski/the-official-independence-celebration-was-going-to-be-held-over-four/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryszard-kapuscinski/the-official-independence-celebration-was-going-to-be-held-over-four/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```