The Brazil-Mozambique Cultural Center (CCBM), in Maputo, will show tomorrow the documentary "Pulmão na Baixa da Cidade de Maputo" (Lung in downtown Maputo), which portrays the history of the Tunduru Botanical Garden, one of the oldest in the country.

The film, composed of three reports with different approaches to the garden, was produced by Finina Bila and a group of trainees from the Camera Operator and Television Presenter courses, as part of the "Estúdio Olhar Artístico" initiative, coordinated by Sérgio Libilo, from whom the initial proposal came.

"The Tunduru Garden is really the lungs of the city, a wooded space and many people know little of its history," said Bila, explaining that the space, created in 1885, inherited the name of a Tanzanian district that hosted fighters from the national liberation struggle.

He said that for the production of the documentary several points of the garden and the capital were scaled in order to bring out details that had been little explored.

"We bring aspects related to its architectural structure and we have an urban architect for that trip. We also talk about medicinal plants like cinnamon, it seems that this is the only place in the city that has it," he continued.

The Tunduru Garden was created by English landscape designer Thomas Honney, who was responsible for designing the gardens of the King of Greece and the Sultan of Turkey.

Before independence, the site, which houses several exotic indigenous plants, was called Jardim Municipal-Vasco da Gama. It was extensively remodeled in 1907, adopting the current design.

At the end of 2011, it was in an advanced state of degradation, and a protocol was signed between public and private entities for its lengthy restoration. It was reopened to the public on December 21, 2015.