Photographers who worked during the politically
tumultuous period between 1970 and 1988, include
Alvaro Hoppe, Oscar Navarro, and Hector Lo ́pez.
Colombia
The early twentieth century was a turbulent and
painful time for Colombia. Amid economic and
political chaos, Panama was separated from Co-
lombia. To compensate, the collective psyche of
Colombia turned its focus on symbols of modern-
ity. As in Argentina, city albums were popular in
the 1910s and 1920s, and they served to promote
national pride and encourage foreign investments.
Magazines using photographs includedEl Gra ́fico
(1910) andCromos (1916), both of which used
images that anticipated those inLife magazine.
The time period between 1900 and 1940 represents
the ‘‘belle epoque criolla’’ in Colombian photogra-
phy. Melito ́n Rodrı ́guez (1875–1942) recorded the
areas of Medellı ́n and Antioquı ́a, and is considered
the representative photographer of his time. Benja-
mı ́n de la Calle (1869–1934) was known for his
superb studio portraits and his images of Medellı ́n.
Juan Nepomuceno Go ́mez (1885–1946) is consid-
ered the preeminent photographer of his time in
Bogota ́due to the excellence of his studio portraits.
Luis Ramos (1899–1955), influenced by Henri Car-
tier-Bresson, is considered the father of modern
Colombian photography. Jorge Obando (c. 1891–
1982) photographed the ‘‘common’’ people in
developing urban centers. He also recorded singer/
icon Carlos Gardel’s fatal airplane accident in 1935.
Pedro Lafont photographed the activities inside
banks, offices, jails, and tailor shops of Bogota ́.
Luis B. Gaita ́n and Leo Matiz are known for their
images of the civil unrest of April 1948. Photogra-
phers active in the latter decades of the twentieth
century include Miguel Angel Rojas, Beatriz Jara-
millo, and Javier Galeano. It was not until 1974 that
photographs were admitted to Salones Nacionales
on an equal par with the other arts. In 1983, the
Museo de Arte Moderno de Bogota ́sponsored the
Historia de la Fotografı ́a en Colombiaexhibition.
Two books on the history of photography in
Colombia resulted from the exhibit.
Ecuador
Photographer and researcher Lucia Chiriboga con-
siders the following to be among the most notable
Ecuadoran photographers of the twentieth century.
In the early 1900s, Jose ́Domingo Laso produced
an album of striking images of Quito and a gallery
of oficios (trades). Carlos Rivadeneira, son of nine-
teenth-century photographer Benjamin Rivade-
neira, worked with Underwood and Underwood,
a firm that published stereoviews from around the
world. In Cuenca, Manuel Serrano and Jose ́Salva-
dor Sa ́nchez published postcards, as well as views
of the city and its people. During the1940s, foreign-
born photographers who recorded rural and urban
Ecuador include Rolf Blomerg, Gottfried Hirtz,
and Bodo Wuth. In the late 1970s, Hugo Cifuentes
was recognized for his documentary photography,
and Luis Mejia, a photojournalist, for his urban
street images. In the 1980s and 1990s, Camilo
Luzuriaga, Judy de Bustamante, Marcela Garcı ́a,
Jose ́Avile ́s Diego Cifuentes, and Lucia Chiriboga
emerged as the new generation of photographers.Peru ́
Peruvian photo-historian Adelma Benavente sug-
gests that during the early 1900s, the center of
photographic activity in Peru ́ was in the south,
specifically in Arequipa and Cuzco. Max T. Vargas
(c. 1872–c. 1958), a commercially successful photo-
grapher, owned studios in Arequipa and La Paz,
Bolivia. He trained and mentored a number of
young men who artistically surpassed him, includ-
ing Martin Chambi, the Vargas brothers (probably
no relation to Max), and Juan Manuel Figueroa
Aznar. Vargas’ studio produced portraits, land-
scapes, vistas, and also ethnographic images on
postcards. Sometime in the 1920s, Vargas relocated
to Lima, where he continued on a modest commer-
cial level, doing portrait work and producing post-
cards of Lima and its environs. His career spanned
almost 70 years, and he served as an aesthetic and
didactic link between the late nineteenth- and early
twentieth-century generation of Peruvian photo-
graphers. Carlos (1885–1979) and Miguel (1886–
1979) Vargas, also in Arequipa, were bohemian
dandies whose photographs personified what wri-
ter Tom Rowson called the ‘‘stylized glamour cul-
ture of the twenties.’’ Their surrealist, avante-garde
images included modern, daring images of women.
Most notable were their nocturnos (night scenes),
produced with dramatic illumination. Their archive
languished until 1990, when photographer Peter
Yenne organized an ongoing project to preserve
and digitize their archive. Martı ́n Chambi (1891–
1973) eventually settled in Cuzco during the hey-
day of the Cuzco School of Photography and the
Indigenismo movement (c. 1910–1930). Cuzco
School photographers were influenced by the Indi-
genismo movement, which advocated for the poli-SOUTH AMERICA, PHOTOGRAPHY IN