War

I’ve only heard “fun” stories and anecdotes about the three decades of civil war in the country. It seems like, collectively and silently, it has been decided that the atrocities are not something that should be passed on, while fun stories thrive and get told by different people in different versions. One of the stories goes like this: Cuban soldiers (11,000 of them were in the country in 1976) were known to like pork meat very much. As it was quite rare in supply during the war, the Cubans were also known to stop whoever was transporting pigs and seize the animals to have a special dinner. Once, a group of Angolan soldiers got offered (or stole, versions differ…) a pig in a village (it could have been in pretty much any of the provinces: I guess the story is one of those myths that get then appropriated by different groups and populations, as it represents a “universal” for the specific time). As the Angolans had to pass a Cuban camp, they started thinking about a solution that would avoid them to “share” the gift with the Cubans. One soldier suggested to dress the pig in uniform and to put it next to the driver in a “sitting” position. When they got to the Cuban camp, they got stopped and the Cubans searched the car: “Do you have pigs?” “No, no”, was the answer. “And what is this???” said one of the Cubans pointing at the pig in uniform. “It’s our chief!” “The pig is your chief?” “Yes, don’t you see the medals on his jacket, and the hat, and the uniform?” “So, the pig is your chief…” Smiling nods. Eventually the Cubans had to let them off, together with the chief-pig. The Angolans had a big party that night and that’s also when this story started being told and retold to everyone who wants to listen to it.