Angola Avante Angola Avante "Angola Avante!" (English: "Onwards Angola") is the national anthem of the Republic of Angola. composed the music, while the lyrics were authored by Manuel Rui Alves Monteiro. It was adopted as the national anthem in November 1975, when the country gained its independence from Portugal. The lyrics make reference to several key events of the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), which has been in power since independence and was the only party in Angola until 1992. "Angola Avante" was composed by . The lyrics to the song were penned by Manuel Rui Alves Monteiro (1941–),
1950s in Angola of Northern Angola, which advocated the independence of the traditional Kingdom of Kongo, in 1954. Portuguese police arrested Agostinho Neto of the MPLA and future President of Angola (1975–1979), in 1952 and again in 1955 for his involvement in the Portuguese Communist Party. He returned to Angola in 1959 and police arrested him again in 1960. Portuguese authorities arrested over 100 MPLA members in 1959. The Portuguese discovered petroleum in Angola in 1955. Production began in the Cuanza basin in the 1950s, in the Congo basin in the 1960s, and in the exclave of Cabinda in 1968. The Belgian company