[1] Chibanga was one of seven children of a pastry shop owner in Lourenço Marques, Mozambique.
He began frequenting a local bullring at age nine, and became involved in promoting bullfighting to tourists.
In 1960 he accepted an invitation to a bullfighting festival in Lisbon; after observing fights by Diamantino Viseu and Manuel dos Santos], he decided to stay, and was hired to care for fighting bulls.
He made his matador debut in 1971 in Seville, becoming the "first of African descent to perform professionally in the sport".
He toured around the world and his audience included Orson Welles, Salvador Dalí, and Pablo Picasso.