Alda Lara

• Name — Alda Lara • Birth Name — Alda Ferreira Pires Barreto de Lara Albuquerque • Born — 9 June 1930 • Birthplace — Benguela, Portuguese Angola • Died — 30 January 1962 • Place of death — Cambambe, Portuguese Angola • Occupation — Medical doctor, poet, journalist • Citizenship — Portuguese • Notable Works — Tempo de chuva • Spouse — Orlando Albuquerque (writer)

Alda Lara was born on 9 June 1930 in Benguela, Portuguese Angola. She came from a wealthy family and received a Christian education, which gave her a spirit of liberalism according to one commentator. Her brother was the noted poet Ernesto Lara Filho. Lara attended a women's school in Sá da Bandeira (now Lubango) before moving to Portugal to finish her secondary schooling. She attended University of Lisbon and resided at the Casa dos Estudantes do Império (House of the Students of the Empire). She had an active student life and began her writing career by publishing poetry in the literary journal Mensagem, a publication specifically for Africans. Lara later attended the University of Coimbra and earned a degree in medicine.

Lara wrote for several newspapers and magazines such as the Jornal de Benguela, the Jornal de Angola, and the ABC e Ciência. She married the Mozambican-Portuguese writer Orlando Albuquerque and gave birth to four children. After living in Portugal for 13 years, Lara moved back to Angola in 1961.