Contrapuntos Latino-Africanos: Operation Antonio Maceo and The Mists of Benguela Bay

The essay provides a phenomenological analysis of ‘Operation General Antonio Maceo,’ the military offensive that took place in southern Angola between January and April 1976 to ensure the retreat of South African troops towards Namibia. By peeling away the historical, social and cultural contexts layered around the symbolism of the "Bronze Titan" (second-in-command of the Cuban Army of Independence), the aim is to reveal the structures and meanings interwoven into the concept of ‘Latin-African’ that was articulated by Fidel Castro as the historical-biological-cultural imperative legitimating Havana’s decision to send thousands of Cuban internationalists to Angola shortly after the outbreak of that country’s civil war. This experiential approach allows us to read the operation as a re-telling of national life, thus unveiling the more shaded qualities of collective experience that can otherwise elude us.