COLONIAL AND INDEPENDENCE STAGE

The first hemerographic evidence dates back to the beginning of the twentieth century. In 1901, a fortnightly newspaper entitled El Eco de Fernando Poo lasted until issue 7, which seemed to be due to the breakdown of the printing machine. This magazine was an initiative of Governor José de Ibarra Autrán and Enrique López Perea, who published several works about EG in 1906 and 1912.

This first attempt was followed by a two-year dry period until 1 April 1903, when a bi-weekly magazine appeared, La Guinea Española, edited and printed by the Claretian missionary order Sons of Corazón de María. This magazine lasted more than half a century, until some months after the declaration of independence (1969). After independence it changed its name to La Guinea Ecuatorial.

In 1901 Father Armengo Coll transported a single printer from Spain. The first issue of this journal was published on 1 April of 1903, once it had got a press license. It had a subtitle that literally read ‘Periódico Quincenal. Defensor y Promotor de los intereses de la colonia’ (Bi-weekly newspaper. Defender and Promoter of the interests of the colony). Its slogan was Dios, Patria, Colonia (God, Country, Colony), confirming the intentions of the Spanish government, announced a few months before (on 25 January), ‘to promote the religious, material and moral interests of our loved colony in the Gulf of Guinea’. It was projected as ‘an informative, descriptive and entertaining magazine’.

It had four pages; the third issue changed its format to folio instead of the original Dutch size. The subscription was 8 pesetas (pts) per year in Fernando Poo and 16 pts in Spain and Europe. Its first editor was Father Joaquín Juanola, one of the missionaries who left his mark owing to his deep knowledge about the Bubi ethnic group.Footnote ⁵

Two years later, by which time it was achieving 12 pages and coloured covers, its publication was suspended for some years (April 1905 to 12 January 1909 or 1907 according to different references) because of discrepancies with the governor of the colony, José Gómez de la Serna, owing to government censorship. After long negotiations between the highest missionary authorities and the government the magazine could be published again, this time with 8 pages and a colour cover, edited by Father Marcos Ajuria.Footnote ⁶ In 1918 he was succeeded by Father Ambrosio Ruiz, who signed his work with the pseudonym ‘Ruiaz’. During this time the magazine expanded up to 16 text pages plus 8 advertising pages with a format of 48 by 40 cms. Father Ruiz headed this journal for more than two decades which between 1930 and 1943 came out weekly. In 1945 Father Adolfo Ortega took over the direction of the magazine until 1950, when he was succeeded by Father Félix de Valois Arana and later, in 1961, by Father Amador Martín del Molino, the most experienced specialist in the anthropology of the Bubi at the time.Footnote ⁷

This publication was suspended during the last three months of 1940 and all of 1941. However, the magazine overcame its difficulties and in 1964 it reached a circulation of up to 1,000 copies. The magazine was definitively closed in 1969 (issue number 1633 of June-August appearing as a monthly publication) after the independence of Equatorial Guinea, following the events that marked the beginning of the despotic era of Macías Nguema, which led to the exile of the Spanish religious population and part of the Guinean population. From independence in October 1968, the magazine changed its name and was adapted to the new state of things with the title La Guinea Ecuatorial. In that period Father Teodoro Crespo stood down after leading the magazine for six years. The last director was Father Ciriaco Bokesa, a notable Bubi poet.

Despite its modest pretentions, this publication is nowadays an essential document for historians who need data from the period between the beginning of the 20th century and the beginning of Equatorial Guinea as an independent nation. It published local news, lists of passengers to and from Spain, service openings and many articles on ethnology, social and natural sciences. The scarce collections remaining from this journal today are highly relevant.

In 1904 the Boletín Oficial del Gobierno General (Official bulletin of the General Government/Governorship) was published for the first time, a bi-monthly publication which in 1905 became the Boletín Oficial de la Colonia (Official bulletin of the Colony). On 1 March 1907, it was relaunched as a bi-weekly with the title Boletín Oficial de los Territorios Españoles del Golfo de Guinea (Official bulletin of the Spanish Territories of the Gulf of Guinea). It was printed in the Claretian Mission printing workshop thanks to the efforts of General Governor Luis Gómez Izquierdo. It had a circulation of 200 copies, consisting of two sheets with dimensions of 44 × 32 cms. This format changed in the first issue of January 1909 to 39 × 13 cms. From 1 April 1954, it was printed in the Arts and Crafts workshops of the Delegation of Indigenous Affairs in Bata, where it continued with the same features and fortnightly publication. In July 1959 this journal was renamed as the Boletín Oficial de las Provincias de Fernando Poo y Río Muni (Official bulletin of the Provinces of Fernando Poo and Río Muni), when Guinean territory was officially divided into ‘provinces’ of Spain. The name was kept until early 1961. With the establishment of the autonomous regime in 1964 the magazine changed its name to a new one: Boletín Oficial de la Región Ecuatorial (Official bulletin of the Equatorial Region). On 21 October 1968, after the independence of Equatorial Guinea, it was renamed as Boletín Oficial. República de Guinea Ecuatorial (Official bulletin. Republic of Equatorial Guinea).

A Boletín Eclesiástico del Vicariato (Vicariate ecclesiastical bulletin was occasionally published in Guinea with a circulation of 100, as well as the Hoja Parroquial de Santa Isabel in a print run of 2,000 copies, and the Hoja Parroquial de San Antonio Claret in a run of 1,000 copies. Since the division of the diocese of Guinea into two, the bishopric of Bata started to have its own bulletin, with occasional frequency. Other information magazines and journals were also published from the beginning in parallel to the press, some of them focused on agricultural topics and colonial studies.

The agricultural Chamber of Commerce of Fernando Poo, the most powerful lobby of that territory, in 1906 launched a Boletín Agrícola de Fernando Poo (Agricultural bulletin of Fernando Poo), produced by the same missionary order. It was a monthly journal printed in Banapá, near the capital, with a circulation of 300 copies, and 16 pages long (sized A4 paper). There are only copies recorded from 1907 to 1910, although some sources consider this journal to have existed until 1922.

Years later, a Memoria de la Delegación Peninsular para Café de las Cámaras Oficiales Agrícolas de Guinea (Report of the peninsular delegation for coffee plantations of the Chamber of Agriculture of Guinea) was published (edited in Madrid), from which only the issues printed in 1955 and 1960 are recorded. Reports of the annual cocoa campaigns were published by the Cocoa Trade Union (also edited in Madrid) from which only those issues corresponding to the years between 1947 and1959 are documented in two-year volumes.

A new publication was launched in October 1910: La voz de Fernando Poo (The voice of Fernando Poo). Printed in Barcelona it appointed itself as ‘defender of the interests of Spanish possessions in the Gulf of Guinea’. It was founded and managed first by Francisco López Canto and later by Armando Ligero García de Araoz, who came from a well-established family in the colony. It seemed to emerge as complementary to Boletín de Defensa Agrícola de Fernando Poo another newspaper to which we will refer later that had started somewhat earlier also printed in Barcelona with the same address. La voz de Fernando Poo was an illustrated bi-weekly journal with a 32 cm format and a circulation of an extraordinary 4,000 copies of 39 pages, 20 × 14 cm-sized, and had a circulation of 4,000 copies. It was sent free to anyone who requested it. This magazine, whose costs were covered by Catalonian companies, had a marked economic feel. Although documented until 1929, it seems to have lasted until 1936, when civil war broke out in Spain. Years later, in August 1966, it became a single sheet clandestine publication with the same name, which advocated the independence of Guinea and the separation of Fernando Poo from the rest of the future of the Guinean nation.Footnote ⁸

A little earlier, in June 1910, another bi-weekly newspaper was published, the Boletín de Defensa Agrícola CDAFP (Bulletin of the agricultural defence committee) with similar characteristics and also printed in Barcelona. The first issue had 4 pages with a 22 cm format, but this increased to 8 pages from the second issue. It seems it was somehow connected with La voz de Fernando Poo; perhaps it could have been its continuation. Issues 1 to 7 are recorded.

In 1924 a monthly magazine entitled Fernando Poo y la Guinea Española was launched in Barcelona, with the subtitle Órgano de la Delegación en España de la Cámara Agrícola Oficial de Fernando Poo y de la Unión de Agricultores de la Guinea Española (Organ of the Delegation in Spain of the Official Agricultural Chamber in Fernando Poo and the Farmers' Union of Spanish Guinea). Four issues are documented. In 1924 a yearbook was published in Barcelona, entitled Memoria de los trabajos… llevados a cabo por la Junta de Gobierno de la Unión de Agricultores de la Guinea Española durante el año agrícola (Report of works… conducted by the Governing Board of the Farmers' Union of Spanish Guinea during the agricultural year). Ten issues have been documented, published in A5-format, between 1924 and 1935, when it is assumed to have ceased publication.

Another newspaper appeared in Santa Isabel (now Malabo) in 1924, El Heraldo Colonial (The colonial herald). It was directed by the journalist and publicist Julio Arija and printed at the facility of Maximiliano Jones, an exceptional Fernandino Footnote ⁹ from the coast of the gulf who knew how to make a large fortune and became the most important African man in the colony, respected even by the governors of the time. The Fernandinos were descendants of pidgin English-speaking freed slaves from Sierra Leone and Liberia, who arrived in Fernando Poo in the 19th century and constituted a sort of ‘black aristocracy’ in Guinea. This journal disappeared and was replaced by a new magazine España Colonial (Colonial Spain) acquired by the neighbourhood council (Major House) of Santa Isabel. Some sources attribute 1927 as the cut-off of this publication, but others attribute 1928–30, which seems to be more probable.

This newspaper was replaced by El Defensor de Guinea, launched on 1 May 1930 and claiming to ‘be independent of any political and social trends’. Its rubric was ‘to defend the interests of our colonies in the Gulf of Guinea and safeguard Spanish colonializing action in these possessions’. It was a bi-weekly journal with a 33 cm-sized format and has been documented up to issue 423, corresponding to the year 1934, but it seems to have lasted until the beginning of the Spanish civil war in September 1936, when it acquired the name of El Nacionalista (The Nationalist), the island aligning itself with the cause of the Burgos (dictator Franco's) government. In 1937 it was renamed Frente Nacional (National Front), publishing a daily sheet entitled Hoja de Información (Information sheet).Footnote ¹⁰

The first newspaper consistently published over time was Ébano, launched in 1939 and directed from August 1943 by Sebastián Llompart Aulet, Delegate for Labour in the colony.Footnote ¹¹ It appeared as an organ of the Traditionalist Spanish Falange and JONSFootnote ¹² and belonged to the movement's newspaper chain. It came out in a 42 × 30 cm format. In 1953 it appeared subtitled as Diario de la Guinea Española (The Spanish Guinea journal), dependent on the government. In February 1961, José Cervera Pery was appointed as its new director, a writer with expertise in naval topics. When the colony became a ‘region’, it acquired the subtitle of Diario de la Región Ecuatorial (Journal of the Equatorial Region). It had a format of 44 × 32 cms and a circulation of 1,000 copies, and was printed in a workshop with a linotype ‘Intertype C’ and photo-electronic ‘Elgrama’ equipment.

Another publication was launched in 1965, before independence. It was published on Mondays as a replacement for Ébano, the day on which the newspaper was not published. With the title Hoja del Lunes de Fernando Poo, its first issue was released on 1 February 1965, with a 41 cm-format. It was regularly published until 23 September 1968, the last issue being no. 190. From 1969 it had a very irregular life and will be cited in this article in connection with the later stages of Guinean journalism.

The rapid development of the continental region of Guinea in the 1950s favoured the presence of its own newspaper different from the one of the island and its capital. Thus the journal Potopoto was born – first published by the Delegation of Indigenous Affairs on 31 December 1951, with a title that referred to the red mud that washed over the country during the rainy season. It was 10 pages with a format of 43 × 28 cm.

The journalist José María Angulo acted as editor-in-chief. It was subtitled Semanario de la Guinea Continental Española (Spanish Continental Guinea weekly). Potopoto had a 44 × 32 cm format and weekly publication, was priced 1 pts. From the division of Guinea into two provinces in 1959 it was subtitled Semanario de la Provincia de Río Muni, reducing its format down to 35 × 25 cms, and increasing its price to 2 pts. It was printed in the workshops of the labour centre La Salle in Bata, with flat machines composed by hand, which served as a school workshop for future typographical workers among the local people. César Ubeda Blanco appeared as the second director of this publication and the provincial deputation of Río Muni as its owner. In this way, the newspaper was progressively changing its headlines conforming with the evolution of the institutions towards autonomy.

There is a record of issue 35 of La Voz de Guinea Continental (The Voice of Continental Guinea) from 1947, published in Bata by the Sports Boarding Team of that region. The issues of this publication up to no. 46 (1948) have been kept. It was mimeographed and had 4 folio-sheets with illustrations.

The increasing importance of the Patronato de Indígenas (Patronage of Indigenous)Footnote ¹³ during the late colonial period led to the creation of a Boletín del Patronato de Indígenas de los Territorios Españoles del Golfo de Guinea (Bulletin of the Patronage of Indigenous of the Spanish territories in the Gulf of Guinea). The first issue of this informative monthly bulletin came to light in November 1949. It was a modest 12-page booklet printed in the missionaries’ workshop with the same format as La Guinea Española (24 × 17 cms) until issue 7 (May 1950), which changed to a new format (30 × 21 cms) with a coloured cover. It was printed in the workshop of the Colonial Printer and acquired a new title Patronato de Indígenas de los Territorios Españoles del Golfo de Guinea (Patronage of Indigenous of the Spanish territories in the Gulf of Guinea) with the subtitle Revista de información agrícola, colonial, comercial y cooperatista de la entidad (Journal of agricultural, colonial, commercial and cooperative aspects information of the entity). It continued to appear monthly with a subscription price of 60 pts in the colony and 75 pts in Spain. From September 1950 (issue 11) the name of the magazine changed to Bantú, subtitled Órgano oficial del Patronato de Indígenas de los Territorios Españoles del Golfo de Guinea (Official organ of the Patronage of Indigenous of the Spanish territories in the Gulf of Guinea), whose existence is documented until 1960. It had a 31 cm format.

The Patronage of Indigenous Board published an annual report of its activities, although sometimes it combined various years into a volume. Issues corresponding to 1942, 1950–54, 1954–55, and 1955–56 have been recorded. The formats for the first and second periods (1954 to 1956) were 25 and 32 cms respectively.

Another publication edited in Guinea, named Fernando Poo and listed as the ‘Journal of the Provincial Government’, was printed for the first time in 1961 in Santa Isabel (Babón imprint) with publication oscillating between quarterly and bi-monthly. It was documented until 1964. It was a kind of chronicle of colonial policy, directed by Ángel García Margallo Barberá, and included photographs. It had an initial format of 16 cm that later changed to 24 cm. The number of pages ranged from 112 to 150. Being an official journal, it sustained numerous indigenous collaborations.

A short-lived monthly magazine appeared during the colonial period called Industria en Guinea, released in September 1955. Directed by José María Izquierdo, it included diverse contents and numerous photographs. It had a 24 × 17 cms format and a price of 15 pts. The second issue changed its title to Caminos de Guinea (Paths of Guinea) and publication has been recorded up to no. 5 (1956).

Some schools also began their own publications during colonial times. The Department of Education published a Boletín de Enseñanza (Teaching bulletin) in 1944 and the Indigenous High School, established previously by Heriberto Ramón Álvarez, launched a magazine in 1949 called Nuestro Ideal (Our ideal). It was printed on a mimeograph printer and was written by trainee teachers, directed by Francisco Bartolomé Masiá, Director of Education in the Colony.Footnote ¹⁴ The Normal School of Education, established in 1964, and arising from this centre, edited another publication, also developed by the students, entitled O Boehia (in Bubi, ‘the master’), launched in May of that year. Issue 4 was published in September. The duration of this publication is not known.

There are also reports of a modest publication, La Lija (The Sand), limited in ambition by its character, that was humorously written by young Spanish residents in Guinea doing their military service in the Colonial Guard.

There were also concerned young Guineans studying in the peninsula who had journalistic interests; in June 1968 a group of Guinean students living in Madrid announced in the newspaper Potopoto their intention to publish a magazine whose title would be REGE – Revista de Estudiantes de Guinea Ecuatorial (Student magazine of Equatorial Guinea) led by Severo Moto, who would later become a well known politician. But this magazine was never published because Guinean independence came three months later and, with it, a general change in the situation of the country.

The School of Agricultural Training in the province of the Gulf of Guinea in 1951 published the magazine Ager listed as Boletín de la Dirección de Agricultura. Guinea Española (Bulletin of the Department of Agriculture. Spanish Guinea). The most recent issues found date from 1965, but quarterly publication reached 1968. A total of 55 issues were recorded, but some sources claim that there were eventually 71. Their format was initially folio which would change to quartet, with a variable number of pages. It was a high level magazine due to its high quality technical collaborations.

Together with these scholarly publications, others dealt with official statistics such as the Anuario estadístico de los Territorios Españoles del Golfo de Guinea (Statistical yearbook of the Spanish territories in the Gulf of Guinea), published by the General Government of the Colony in its Bureau of Statistics, from which diverse issues corresponding to years 1942–44 have been documented. At the same time (from 1941) another publication entitled Resúmenes Estadísticos del Gobierno General de los Territorios Españoles del Golfo de Guinea (Statistical summaries of the General Government of the Spanish territories in the Gulf of Guinea) was launched, being published every two years until 1959. In 1958 part of the title was changed to Región Ecuatorial, Provincias de Fernando Poo y Río Muni. It is likely that between 1950 and 1960 some of its publications were re-titled Resúmenes Estadísticos del Censo General de Población de los Territorios Españoles del Golfo de Guinea (Statistical summaries of the general population census of the Spanish territories in the Gulf of Guinea) published by the Colonial Delegation Statistics, which later removed the word ‘colonial’ from its title to become ‘Provinces of Fernando Poo and Río Muni’. These summaries were printed in Madrid by the Institute of African Studies.

There was also a publication with agricultural content called Anuario Agrícola de los Territorios Españoles del Golfo de Guinea (Agricultural yearbook of the Spanish territories in the Gulf of Guinea), published by the General Directorate of Morocco and Colonies which also included agronomic studies. Volumes 2 to 13 (from 1940 to 1947) are registered. This and the aforementioned statistical yearbook are presented in voluminous books published in Madrid.

Also published in Madrid was the Anuario de Estadística y Catastro de la Dirección de Agricultura de los Territorios Españoles del Golfo de Guinea (Statistics and Records yearbook of the Department of Agriculture of the Spanish territories in the Gulf of Guinea), whose issue 8 (1944) and those of the years 1945 and 1947 have been documented.

In 1958 a Boletín de la Delegación de Trabajo (Bulletin of the Work Delegation) was documented with dual informative and statistical contents. It is assumed that lasted several years.

The Health Service of the colony published an annual record, from which a volume corresponding to 1962 has been documented. The General Directorate of Morocco and Colonies in Madrid also published an official information bulletin, whose contents were radio talks released by Spanish National Radio concerning Guinea. Some copies from 1955 have been registered.

Until independence, the Boletín de Información de la Casa de Guinea Española (Information bulletin of the Spanish Guinea House) was published in Barcelona, with some copies registered between 1952 and 1969. It seemed to provide continuity in the journal coverage for the Catalan farmers living in Guinea before the Civil War.

To summarize: it should be noted that in the colonial period almost all periodical publications were official or at least followed certain parameters implicit in the power of the metropolis. This was related to the lack of political parties, unlike developments after the independence, when the number of newspapers and magazines expanded due to the creation of political parties in exile.

THE SECOND STAGE: INDEPENDENCE AND DICTATORSHIP

A crucial date in the history of Equatorial Guinea is 12 October 1968 when independence took place, with the consent of the United Nations and the former colonial power, Spain. After several months of uncertainty about the future, the new president, Francisco Macías Nguema, in response to an alleged conspiracy, set on his way to dictatorship, which would lead to the most bloody tyranny. Of course, this would decisively influence the press which on the one hand was reduced to notes and speeches of the president; and on the other hand, a strong and varied press and media emerged in exile.

The surviving publications from the colonial period suffered diverse vicissitudes. In the case of the magazine La Guinea Española, which became La Guinea Ecuatorial, its first issue had a full front page portrait of the new president. This did not help, as its last issue (no. 1663, June-August 1969) was published a few months later, thus closing a long publishing history of over three-quarters of the 20th century.

Something similar happened to the publication Ébano. From independence, adapting to the new situation after 29 years of existence, it changed its name to Diario de Guinea Ecuatorial. In this new period, directed by Javier J. Núñez Diácono, the journal carried a banner with the new national shield. It had a price of 3 pts, contained 6 pages and had a format of 44 × 32 cms that would be reduced later to a 37 × 26 cms. There were also changes in the number of pages, increasing up to 8, and its price dropped to 2 pts.

Some months later, from 1969, its publication became irregular, coinciding with the hardening of Macías's dictatorial regime. It ended up being published only on politically relevant days or when there was a speech of the President of the Republic. Issues published on 12 October 1970 and 5 March 1971 have been documented. Only 20 issues were released during that year and the next year there were none, but there is a reference to one issue on 5 October 1973. Another newspaper has also been referenced with the title Diario de la República, referring to an issue of 5 March 1971, but it may be the one mentioned above with a title change.

In 1973, ordered by the dictator, this singular newspaper was renamed as Unidad de Guinea Ecuatorial and acted as the government voice. A current reading testifies to the horrors of the dictatorship. Twenty issues were released in 1971. Although listed as a weekly, only two issues during the following year have been confirmed.

However, it seems that it was still in existence at the beginning of 1975. From data provided by Donato Ndongo-BidyogoFootnote ¹⁵ it follows that during that year there was a newspaper called La Libertad (Freedom), which could have been a continuation of Ébano. Liniger-Goumaz's bibliography described this journal as edited in Bata, suggesting that it could be rather a continuation of Potopoto. According to other sources it was subtitled Semanario de la República de Guinea Ecuatorial (Weekly journal of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea) probably released in November 1972.Footnote ¹⁶ La Libertad had an information supplement called ¡En marcha! (Forward!), a youth magazine following Macías. This publication similarly only came out when it was convenient to broadcast a political event of interest to the government. The subsequent vicissitudes experienced by the newspaper of the city of Malabo will be discussed later in this article when speaking to reporters after Obiang Nguema's so-called ‘coup for freedom’ in 1979, when its publication is resumed.

The existence of La Hoja del Lunes has been already referred to. From 1969 it had a very irregular life. There were two documented issues corresponding to the dictatorship period, one from 4 January and another from 12 April 1971, led by Antonio Nandongo. The cost of each copy was 9 pts.

After Ébano the colony's second newspaper had been Potopoto, edited and published in Bata on the mainland or ‘Muni’ region. In 1968, with independence, it turned 17 years old and practically disappeared. It was probably replaced by La Libertad (1968).

In July 1968 Potopoto continued as a weekly magazine under the direction of the writer Íñigo de Aranzadi (who was also producing Bata's ‘Radio Ecuatorial’) until some time after independence. In January 1969 some issues were registered, but it can be ascertained that the newspaper died in Macías's tyrannical period. In 1980, some time after Obiang Nguema's ‘coup for freedom’ it reappeared with a short life as will be discussed below. It is noteworthy that this newspaper, along with Ébano, did not recover, which led to several complaints by international agencies about a lack of press freedom.

The official bulletin that recorded legislation of the colony from 1907 continued being published after independence with the title: Boletín Oficial. República de Guinea Ecuatorial. Its first issue was released ten days after the establishment of the new regime (on 21 October 1968). It had a fortnightly frequency and a 31 cm format. There are some copies registered up to issue 5. From that time its frequency decreased with the deterioration of public affairs, reappearing with the ‘coup for freedom’, as shown below.

A new monthly magazine Acción Cultural was registered in February 1969, edited in Malabo by the Ministry of National Education and generously printed. It ceased publication within a short time.Footnote ¹⁷ It could correspond to the Boletín del Ministerio de Educación Nacional de la Guinea Ecuatorial (Bulletin of the Ministry of Education of Equatorial Guinea) identified by other sources as the government's organ for education. Issue 8 of this bulletin from 8 March 1970 is also known.

With the hardening of Macías's dictatorship came the onset of a major period of exile and with it the creation of a long series of usually short-lived and low frequency magazines edited by Guineans in exile, especially in Spain. They recounted their political activities, sometimes seeking unity to strengthen the social ties between the different Guinean ethnic groups. These circumstances and especially the poor distribution of the magazines makes locating and even ascertaining their existence more difficult. Here is an overview of some of the publications that were tried.

El Frente de Liberación de Guinea Ecuatorial (FRELIGE) (Equatorial Guinea Liberation Front) was born in the Macías era in New York (1970) and had a dissemination vehicle called Nkul Akong (Warning tomtom) published in that city. The first issue came out in August 1971. This party was revived as the opposition in 1981 and between 1986 and 1989. It published an information tool titled La perdiz (The Partridge) to which we refer later.

In 1974 a party called ‘Movimiento de Libertad y Futuro de Guinea Ecuatorial’ (MOLIFUGE) (Movement for the Liberty and Future of Equatorial Guinea) whose headquarters was established in Madrid, released a bulletin titled Molifuge informa which had an unknown duration.

In the same year of 1974 a new party was founded, the ‘Alianza Nacional de Restauración Democrática’ (ANRD) (National Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy). It was the first international organization in exile. Clearly opposed to the Guinean government, it was based on an agreement of non-violence. It had its headquarters in Geneva and created a press agency ‘Agencia de Prensa Popular de Guinea Ecuatorial en lucha’ (APGEL) (Agency of the Popular Press of EQ in the Struggle) directed by Professor Cruz Melchor Eyá Nchama to provide and broadcast authentic news coming from Guinea to all countries. An expression of this idea emerged in Madrid in April 1976 as La Voz del Pueblo (The Voice of the people) which presented information on the ANRD. There were some supplementary publications translated into English and an information sheet whose location could not be identified by the current author, but it is known that it was printed in Barcelona in 1977, being a quarterly magazine. It could have been an internal bulletin of ANRD. Further information about this magazine is provided in the following section of this paper referring to the Obiang Nguema era.

In December 1977 among the exile publications Nueva Generación (New generation) appeared as the publication of the ‘Unión Revolucionaria de Guinea Ecuatorial’ (URGE) (Revolutionary Union of Equatorial Guinea), with the slogan ‘Culture is progress’. This party was inclined towards armed struggle and it seems to be the oldest of those created in Madrid in 1972 by the opposition to Macías in exile. It was dissolved in 1979, but it is not known whether records remain. Two undated issues are registered, printed on a mimeograph machine in a format of 29 × 21 cms and with a price of 25 pts.

THE SECOND EXILE (1979–2000)

The end of Macías's tyranny seemed to open a period of freedom under the presidency of Teodoro Obiang Nguema. But many hopes of the Guinean people for the new system introduced in 1979 were truncated. There was a second generation of exile, which gave rise to new political and ethnic associations and numerous organs of press opinion, characterized by scarce circulation and lack of regular publication.

With the regime change the daily Ébano was re-launched with new printing machinery. In March 1980 new human and material resources arrived from Spain to replace the old machines that had previously been abandoned or dilapidated. The journal, edited by Toribio Obiang Mba, kept its name and included a sub-title Diario de la Mañana (Daily morning paper). It cost 50 bikueles. Its frequency was unclear, evidenced by the ten issues published between April and December 1981.

At the end of that year Antonio Nandongo Nguema was nominated as the new director of the journal. He also edited the bulletin of the Partido Democrático de Guinea Ecuatorial (PDGE) (Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea) named La Voz del Pueblo. In 1982 he was temporarily replaced by Alberto Elo Nse, although not officially. In 1985, the journal disappeared until 1990, being relaunched on 3 August as a bi-monthly publication thanks to the help of the Spanish Cooperation with a circulation of 1,000 copies. After this date it appeared sporadically. One issue was registered in 1991, another in 1993 and a third special issue in 1998. However it still existed in 1999 and was revitalized in 2000 by the Ministry of Information, Tourism and Culture to achieve bi-weekly publication.

In 1980, shortly after Obiang Nguema's ‘coup for freedom’, the journal Potopoto reappeared. Although it had a short life it was the only newspaper in Guinea in 1985. It was published monthly and had a circulation of 1,000 copies. But in 1990 it became quite precarious. One April and two May issues are recorded for that year. Thereafter it was irregularly released.

The official gazette Boletín Oficial. República de Guinea Ecuatorial was luckier and reappeared with the change of regime in 1979. There are registered issues from 1980 to 1986, 1989, 1993 and 1998, and it probably continued until the end of the century.

Once revived, these remaining old publications, numerous journals and magazines were launched during the new era to cover information and policy fields. These are described below.

La Voz del Pueblo began to challenge government policy when Obiang Nguema's government ceased its support to it. Its publication was approximately annual (issue 7 in March 1980 and issue 8 in 1983, the last one registered). An extraordinary issue including more than 100 pages is also documented. It had a size of 29 × 21 cms and was printed on a mimeograph printing machine.

Curiously some years later, in 1987 or more probably in 1991 (documented also in 1994, 1996, 1997 and 1999), another publication appeared with the same name La Voz del Pueblo but as the organ of the PDGE, close to the Obiang government, probably to assume advantage of the confidence of independence achieved by the old newspaper. It was managed by José Esono Bacale in 1999 who replaced Toribio Obiang Mba in this position. It continued to come out during 2000 on a trimestral basis, being registered until issue 32. After the government supressed its grants, this publication positioned itself against the official politics.

The ethnic Ndowe resident in exile in Madrid created a cultural association named ‘Maleva’ and launched a publication called Sango in August 1983, an information sheet with 4 pages (31 × 21 cms), whose first issue was directed by Genoveva Matilde Cuba. But the second September issue was edited by Marcelino Bondjale Oko, changing the title to Sango Maleva Sango. It had an ethno-cultural more than a political orientation and lasted few issues.

In December 1983 a Boletín Informativo (Information bulletin) was launched by the Coalition Board of the opposition forces in EG. Founded some months beforehand it was a publication that cost 200 pts and included 32 pages with a format size of 21 × 16 cms. It was typed and photocopied and had a strictly political character; its periodicity is not known despite its announcement of quarterly publication. Liniger-GoumazFootnote ¹⁸ provided information about another Boletín informativo edited in Malabo in December 1979 from which time issues up to 1982, without a fixed periodicity, are registered and include some special issues, such as that of 1 January 1980 and another from 19 March of the same year. It is uncertain whether both bulletins can be assumed to be the same.

The Liberation Front ‘Frente de Liberación de Guinea Ecuatorial’ (FRELIGE), established in New York during the time of Macías, had a series of publications, one of which was the already noted La Perdiz with a slightly similar name to the Spanish weekly journal La Codorniz. Its first issue was edited in Santa Cruz in Tenerife (Canary Islands) but the second issue makes reference to an address in Málaga in Andalucía, although without any specific date or place. It had 12 pages with a format size of 21 × 15 cms. It was self-classified as an information organ. Its dates oscillated between 1986 and 1989. This party also edited a magazine entitled Tam-Tam de Alerta, whose only reference to the place of publication was ‘in exile’.

In Madrid a publication came out called M'Bolo (an expression of the most generalized greeting form in Guinea) directed by Daniel Mba Oyono, with issue 11 corresponding to 1984. Other publication dates are uncertain.

The Institute of Political Studies of Africa, Latin America and Asia (IEPALA) published in Madrid in December 1985 a magazine entitled Bioko Muni, aimed at Guineans in exile. It appears as an editorial committee of diverse associations, such as CESUR, Litoral, Maleva, PSSEU, Fernando Poo and Progreso. This magazine was subtitled Revista del Centro de Acción Social para Ecuatoguineanos (Magazine at the centre of social action for Equatorial Guineans). With openly political content it aimed to foster help and collaboration between different Guinean associations. It had a format of 28 × 20 cms and 12 pages.

The Guinean opposition set up a publication El Progreso de Guinea Ecuatorial (Progress of EG), edited in Madrid and subtitled Órgano informativo de la Asociación para el progreso de Guinea Ecuatorial (Information organ of the association for the progress of EG). It was led by Antonio Obama Avomo. Its first issue refers to November 1987 and issue 2 was registered in 1988. It had a price of 5O pts and a format of 39 × 29 cms.

The first issue of an 8-page quarterly publication titled Voces de Guinea Ecuatorial (Voices of EG) was released in Madrid during April-May 1993. It was edited by the Asociación para la Solidaridad Democrática con Guinea Ecuatorial (ASODEGUE), (Association for Democratic Solidarity with Equatorial Guinea). It had a markedly political character and represented the opposition to the current regime in EG. It had a format of 29 × 21 cms and a price of 100 pts. The last issue documented by this author is number 7, October 1995. It could be the same publication as the one referred to by Liniger-Goumaz as the information bulletin Boletín Informativo of ASODEGUE, due to the coinciding dates.

ASODEGUE currently publishes Noticias de Guinea Ecuatorial (News from EG), providing political information. Its first issue was released in January 1998. Issue 18 referred to the end of 1999. In July 1998 an extra summer issue was published, plus a further one in December. It had a format similar to that of Voces. ASODEGUE currently has a website, http://www.asodegue.org/. Some sources attribute the bulletin Rebelión (Rebellion) to ASODEGUE, but this was denied by this association.

The Bubis in exile published in Madrid in 1994 a newspaper entitled Bojuelo (meaning ‘news’), providing information from the Movement for the self-determination of the Bioko island (MAIB) a party disaggregated from the Bubi Union. Some issues from 1994 have been documented. Issue 8 of 30 June is the last such one.

Another magazine edited by the Bubis with a feminist perspective was E'Waiso (meaning ‘woman’) edited by the Guinean women's association ‘E'Waiso’ in Barcelona. No. 0 was released in December 1994 with a price of 300 pts. It had 20 pages, a format of 30 cms and a bi-monthly or quarterly periodicity. Some copies of this magazine are documented connected to 1997 and 1998.

Another publication, Viyil (Word house), was launched by the Annoboneses ethnic group, which joined with the Viyil Cultural Association. This magazine ensuing from a cultural outreach programme was edited in Barcelona between the years 1990 and 1994 with an assumed variable periodicity of between 6 months and a year. It was also understood to be launched in 1985 with a shorter periodicity of three months.

In April 1994 the socio-cultural association ‘Plataforma Humanista de Apoyo a Guinea Ecuatorial’ (PHAGE) (Humanist support platform for EG) based in Madrid issued a publication called Lugar de Encuentro (Meeting place). The author of this article has recorded up to issue 3 in January 1996. It was free and had a large folio size.

During this time another magazine titled Tam-Tam express appeared in November 1993 as an independent Equatorial Guinean publication, edited by the company ‘Wa ya Ma’ (Sociedad Africana Promotora de Iniciativas / Society for the Promotion of African initiatives) in Madrid, Bata and Malabo. It was a monthly publication. It was registered up to the issue 10, possibly from August 1995.

The press in this period can be classified into three groups according to their origin: firstly, corresponding to their external opposition in exile; secondly, the indigenous press published by the authorized parties; and thirdly, the indigenous underground press. Several examples of the first group have been described here. In the following section publications from the other two groups are presented. Some of these oscillate between two of these groups depending on the vicissitudes of the censorship more or less is evidence.

An example is La Verdad, whose issue no. 00 appeared in June 1991 and no. 1 in July, continuing in subsequent years. It was edited by CPDS (Convergencia para la Democracia Social / Convergence for Social Democracy) and had monthly distribution.

The magazine, in high demand, was distributed free of charge, secretly, and was persecuted. Plácido Mikó was its editor in chief, in collaboration with Celestino Bakale; Plácido Mikó was imprisoned and tortured.Footnote ¹⁹ The journal was authorized with the legalization of the CPDS party, although suspended later for ten months, between May 1995 and February 1996. It was re-launched in March 1996 (issue 35), has an online presence (http://www.cpds-gq.org/) and publishes 2–3 issues a year. In 1999 it suffered notable difficulties. Santiago Obama Ndong is its current director. The number of pages oscillated between 8 in 1991 up to 24 in 1993, and is currently 16. A special issue has been documented dedicated to Libreville (Gabon), home of a large number of Equatorial Guinean exiles.

Another publication similarly oscillating between legality and illegality is El Sol (The Sun) (edited in Malabo) and presented as an independent information organ in EG. It was launched in February 1994 as a weekly publication of 12 pages. Its frequency decreased with time down to fewer than one issue a month. It was the first private magazine to be legalized in EG, but at the beginning of 1995 was suspended by the authorities until early May. The issues between August and December 1995 were also banned for ‘lack of objectivity’. The last documented issue of El Sol refers to March 1996, but there are other references of its publication at least into 1997 (currently it does not exist). In March 2007 the editor of this magazine, Francisco Herrera, was expelled from the country. Antonio Ndongo Ayong, its director, also chaired the Press Association of Equatorial Guinea (ASOPGE). It should be emphasized that the National Press Agency created in 1991 by UNESCO does not exist today. A UNESCO workshop on press and democracy in Africa was held in August 1998. An issue of the UNICEF bulletin from June 1996 is documented in EG, edited in Malabo and titled Ventana Abierta (Open window).

The Social Democratic Coalition Party (PCSD) published an information bulletin from 1992 until 1996, fairly regularly, at weekly to bi-weekly intervals. It was entitled Tu Guía (Your guide).Footnote ²⁰ The Popular Union Party released another publication in 1995, Cambio 2000 (Change 2000), on which the author of this article has no more data.

Some sources attribute a sporadic journal titled Cambio 93 (Change ’93), published in 1993 in Malabo, to the Partido Liberal (PL) (Liberal Party), without further information. Another publication La Luz (The light) was also published in 1993 in Malabo by the Convergencia Social-Demócrata y Popular (CSDP) without a fixed schedule. The party ‘Alianza Democrática y Progresista’ (ADP) (Democratic and Progressive Alliance) published a journal called El Ocio during the same year, also in Malabo, attributed as El Eco de ADP by some sources, as well as another publication El Eco de las Cumbres with an undetermined publication date.

A monthly magazine entitled La Solidaridad (Solidarity), published in Malabo for the first time on 15 October 1996, acted as the humanitarian information organ of AGECDEA (Association for the Care and Support of the Elderly). It was directed by Mariano Ebang Anguesomo. From 1999 its regularity decreased dramatically despite apparently being a quarterly publication.

There is a publication edited by the ‘Aula de Adultos’ (Adult Class) of a district of Malabo: New bill, also called Neun Bilí (New building) and other titles like Jumbil. It has been documented from 1988 until 1993 and probably lasted up to 1995. Another association from the district of Elá Nguema published a similar magazine Soko Sese. It was probably launched in 1988 and is registered until March 1993.Footnote ²¹

A new magazine Horizontes, edited by the ‘Cultural Association of Students' of the distance-learning university Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED) (Bata) was launched in February 1993. It was focused towards a more selective public and had a quarterly periodicity.

CONTEMPORARY PERIOD

La Gaceta de Guinea Ecuatorial (EG gazette) was launched in Malabo on 15 May 1996. It was directed by Toribio Obiang Mba, a member of the state administration, with other collaborators. Its editorial board was presided over by Agustín Nse Nfumu, general secretary of the PDGE, who was then the Minister of Culture. The original monthly newspaper header read ‘Periódico quincenal de información general, cultural y deportiva’ (bimonthly newspaper of general, cultural and sporting information). From issue 19 (May 1996) this subtitle became ‘Periódico independiente de información, cultura y deportes’ (independent newspaper of information, culture and sport). This journal is online at http://www.lagacetadeguinea.com and currently has a monthly frequency, evidence of its long life.

La Gaceta was another publication edited by a particular company (SOGEDISA, with Spanish participation) although in some ways it became an official state bulletin, and it publishes on matters of public interest. It had a monthly periodicity. Although it declared its apolitical and social character, it was part of the government, but critical in denouncing abuses. The initial 500 copies had a price of a 200 CFA francs. At the outset it contained 12 pages that later became 56, 64 and 88 pages. Issue 76 had 62 pages and cost 250 CFA. At the beginning of 2000 this publication entered a new stage with a linotype improvement to become a modern colour magazine with 64 pages. It was printed in Madrid, with a circulation of 15,000 copies (compared to the 500 of the previous period) most of which were sold in Spain and South America, apart from the copies concurrently sent to Guinea.

During the 1990s various requests were made to the government to authorize new publications but these were rejected and, in consequence, never surfaced. This was the case of El Tiempo (1996) and La Hoja del Periodista (1998), organ of the Press Association of Guinea Ecuatorial, and La Opinión (1990) (http://www.asodegue.org/agosto0609.htm). This latter was firstly directed by the journalist Pedro Nolasco,Footnote ²² who was succeeded by Manuel Nze Nsogo Angue, whose editorship lasted at least between 2003 and 2009. The independent journal El Mensajero also had to wait for approval before launching in 2000. A similar editorial line appeared in El Tiempo published from 2000 with a bi-weekly frequency.

Some publications, product of the cooperation between Spain and Guinea, are also considered of interest for this article for their periodic character.

In 1985 a magazine entitled África 2000 was launched. It was edited in Malabo by the Hispano-Guinean Cultural Centre. Although printed in mimeograph it included a high density of collaborations. The aim of this publication, edited inside the country, was to include new young Equatorial Guinean writers. Four issues had been released by May 1985. It had about 80 pages and a format of 32 × 21 cms. Directed by Julián Donado Vara it mainly had a cultural and literary character.

This magazine had a more successful and longer second period from 1987, still being supported by the Hispano-Guinean cultural centre of Malabo. It was printed in Madrid on good-quality paper, with coloured covers and numerous illustrations. New Guinean authors partook of its pages to write their articles. It had 50 pages with a format of 28 × 21 cms. It was led by subsequent directors of that cultural centre and coordinated by the journalist and writer Donato Ndongo-Bidyogo. Unfortunately, this publication only survived until 1994 (issue 22).

In December 1990 another magazine El Patio was born as a continuation of África 2000, although with a more modest presentation. It included a dense collaboration of Guinean writers and was assumed as the magazine of the Hispano-Guinean Cultural Centre; its editorial team Juan Tomás Ávila Laurel, Gabriela Gómez-Pimpollo and other people related to the centre directed this magazine. Its monthly periodicity remained fairly regular. With a format of 26 × 20 cms, it had approximately 50 pages and included illustrations. In 2000 issue 69 was the last recorded number. El Patio had also a children's magazine called El Peque Patio, directed by Virginia Ubalde.

At the beginning of 1992 Guinean students launched a magazine entitled Entre Nosotros with the subtitle Órgano informativo del PSEEU (Promotion of solidarity of EG university students), based in the University College. In 1968 the journal Potopoto announced the intention of a group of Guinean students to launch a publication with the title REGE: Revista de Estudiantes de Guinea Ecuatorial (Student magazine of EG). The same college in Madrid edited a bibliographic bulletin between 1992 and 1996 which contained photocopies of all the articles related to Equatorial Guinea published in the press in Madrid. It had a limited dissemination, was approximately monthly and was directed by the college librarian.

There is another relatively recent magazine with a scholarly character called Modjo ma ‘Anuam which in the Fang language means ‘bird words’ and was subtitled as ‘Boletín universitario de información’. It was published in Malabo, edited by the University of Equatorial Guinea and directed by Federico Edjo Ovono. It had 20 pages, and modest content as it was a bulletin of activities at the university.

In the context of teaching there should also be mention of Ayo, de Guinea Ecuatorial subtitled as ‘Estudiantil, social y cultural’, published in Malabo in 1998; the name Ayo seems to be a Yoruba word, a personal touch of the director related to that Nigerian ethnic group. Issue 10 appeared in October-November 1999 and it continued until 2000. Edited by the group, Ayo was directed by Juan Eyene Okua. It was a quarterly publication including 32 pages with informative and educational outreach content.

Another publication entitled Bioko should also be cited. It was edited by the Cultural Institute of France with the aim of disseminating of francophone culture.

The Revista de las Fuerzas Armadas was cited by Fermín Nvo in an article without more specifications, but its existence is demonstrated at least during the year 2000, according to later references. There was also an official Boletín Estadístico Anual edited in Malabo, from which only the issues published in1985 and 1990 are known to the author of this article.

A group of Guineans exiled in Germany launched a magazine in 1997 entitled La Diáspora, subtitled as ‘Información bimensual para la comunidad guineo-ecuatoriana en el extranjero’. It was edited in Berlin and directed by Samuel Mba Mombe, an ex-member of the ANRD committee. There is confirmation of its existence at least until 2000, the end of the period considered in the current article. At the beginning of 2000, it had 18 pages, a format of 30 cm and cost 200 pts or 2 German marks.

Another recent magazine is Afirikara (a mythic Fang figure, identified by the Fang as being the original name of Africa) subtitled as ‘Órgano de la Unión de Demócratas Independientes de Guinea Ecuatorial’ (Organ of the Union of Independent Democrats of EG), a party formed by different factions of UDJ and MAIB. It defined itself as a bridge between Equatorial Guinean people living abroad and inside the country and declared its open concern for the day-to-day situation of people living there. The first issue was published in June 1999. Its editorial was signed by Daniel Mba Oyono, president of the Unión de Demócratas Independientes (UDI) (Union of Independent Democrats); it was edited in Móstoles (Madrid) until the end of 2000.

Other magazines also published in Spain can be considered Guinean because they are fully concerned with the problems of that country, such as El Boletín, órgano de la Asociación Africanista Manuel Iradier, with its headquarters in Vitoria. Edited by a direct descendant of the explorer Iradier, its actuation is linked mainly to Kogo and its surroundings. It published studies carried out by this association on cooperation and development in EG (health, education and research). The publication has a format of 29 × 21 cms.

In 1999 there appeared a new magazine published in Madrid exclusively concerning EG, Malabo, directed by Javier Bleda. This magazine had a high-quality presentation and was printed on glossy paper. It included 99 coloured pages with a format of 28 × 21 cms. It appeared to be intended as promoting improved political and economic cooperation between Spain and Guinea whilst trying to avoid a rupture with the current policy.

The first issue of a newspaper entitled El Correo Guineo Ecuatoriano was published in Malabo on 9 June 2000. It was edited by SOGEDISA, the same company that published La Gaceta, chaired by Agustín Nse Nfumu and managed by Roberto M. Prieto. It had a weekly frequency and a price of 200 CFA francs. This magazine, with a simple presentation, A3 format and a circulation of 2,000 copies, was complementary to La Gaceta de Guinea Ecuatorial and was aimed at a readership within the country covering local information compared with the external distribution of the other. At the end of 2000 Professor Trinidad Morgades Besari, General Secretary of CICTE (Consejo de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas) directed this publication.

Finally, before concluding these hemerographic notes, the existence of various magazines published in Spain not cited here must be mentioned because they contain information on the latest African news. Some of them were managed by Equato-Guinean people and included frequent articles about EG. Examples are Tam-Tam África (launched in 1991), as well as Ecos de Tam-Tam, published in Barcelona, or África Negra (Black Africa) published in Madrid from 1992.