Luanda, formerly named São Paulo da Assunção de Loanda, is the capital and largest city of Angola. Located on Angola’s coast with the Atlantic Ocean, Luanda is both Angola’s chief seaport and its administrative center. It has a population of over 5 million. It is also the capital city of Luanda Province, and the world’s third most populous Portuguese-speaking city, behind only São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, both in Brazil.

The city is currently undergoing a major reconstruction, with many large developments taking place that will alter the cityscape significantly. Luanda was ranked the most expensive city to live in for expatriates by Mercer, in 2011, but was surpassed by Tokyo in 2012.[Source: Wikipedia]

My seven month stay in Luanda was a rewarding, yet at times challenging, experience. Luanda is a beautiful colonial city, in an idyllic location. However, life in Luanda is disappointingly dominated by a mixture of corporate greed and “old guard” politics. Once destroyed in a bloody civil war, the city is being built anew. Glistening fountains in freshly-tiled praças, newly paved roads to modern shopping districts, these things and more would seem a beautiful rebirth for the city and its people, that is if these advancements weren’t so blatantly mocked by the antiquated corruption of an “old guard” president and his western corporate cronies. Angolan natives and visitors alike have to deal with the corrupt, greedy, and repressive nature of a long over-established regime. Life in Luanda is plagued daily by bribery, police brutality, exploitation, and profiteering. It is my hope that the political and social state of Luanda will undergo the same renovation that the cityscape has, and may it happen soon!