The funeral ceremonies for the musician Chico António are scheduled for today, 16. 01 at the City Council Chambers in Maputo city and then on to the Hindu Crematorium in Lhanguene Cemetery.

Chico António died at the age of 66 last Saturday at Maputo Central Hospital, victim of an illness.

Born in 1958 in the district of Magude, Maputo province, Chico António escaped the possibility of being a vagrant in 1964, when he was adopted by the couple José Ferreira dos Santos and Lili Ferreira, according to Rádio Mocambique.

According to the same source, that year his adoptive parents managed to get him a place at the Catholic boarding school, Missão São João de Lhanguene, where he did his primary schooling and musical initiation.

He learned to play at an early age. At the age of nine, he became a soloist in a 50-person choir, learning the trumpet and solfeggio.

In the late 1970s, Chico continued as a music professional, working in ensembles such as ABC-78; Grupo Instrumental N.º 1 de música ligeira; RM; and Orquestra Star de Moçambique, and in countries such as Cape Verde; Guinea Conakry; Zimbabwe; Denmark; France; Holland; England; Italy; Portugal; Sweden and Norway.