this exhibition and book are not from Central
American countries.
Images of Silencewas an exhibition that origi-
nated in the United States with more than 60
photographers, each represented by two photo-
graphs, from all countries of the hemisphere, show-
ing works that demonstrate both the technical and
aesthetic vitality of photography. Photographers in
this project were selected by a team of curators
from Latin American countries, including the fol-
lowing from Central American countries: Jerry
Craig (Jamaica), Alexandra Cummins (Barbados),
Magdalena Granadino de Lima (El Salvador),
Rosario Murillo (Nicaragua), Jose Antonio Perez
Ruiz (Puerto Rico), Marianne Tolentino (Domini-
can Republic), and Virginia Vargas (Costa Rica).
The photographs examine recent paths photogra-
phy has taken in the region, leaning on artistic
endeavors more than social or political documenta-
tion. After exhibition in Washington, DC at the
Museum of Modern Art of Latin America, part
of the Organization of American States, the work
traveled to New York and Puerto Rico.
Originally a series of exhibitions for Fotofest
1992 in Houston, Texas, Images and Memory
became a traveling show with Independent Cura-
tors Inc and finally a book in 1998. Images and
Memory looks at Latin American photography
via three criteria: artistic merit, associations with
important directions in the history of photographic
art in the region, and intentional connection to
important aspects of regional history and culture.
The book contains material on several Central
American photographers, with lucid texts about
Latin American photography through the century.
The authors are very frank about the lack of infor-
mation available for some countries, or for the
entire region between 1950 and 1980. Nonetheless,
the presentation makes a bold argument for the
dynamic photographic activity in the region.
As well as several major exhibitions, the end of the
decade saw the rise of several cultural institutions
devoted to Latin American art. The aforementioned
Museum of Modern Art of Latin America exhibits
as well as publishes on diverse subjects including
photography from Central America. In Paris, La
Maison de l’Amerique Latine is a cultural center
that hosts conferences, exhibitions, workshops,
and it also publishes materials on diverse aspects
of Latin American life, politics, and culture.
The following descriptions of Central American
photographers, organized by country, is far from
complete. It provides a springboard for individual
analysis and reflection on twentieth-century photo-
graphy in Central America.
Cuba has a rich history of photography, espe-
cially well documented following the 1959 revolu-
tion, and in art photography in the 1980s and 90s.
Photographers such as Augutin Victor Casasola
and his work on the Mexican Revolution estab-
lished the tradition of epic photography early in
the century in Latin America, and this tradition
was richly exploited in the Cuban context. Photo-
graphy became an international tool for political
messages, and the bearded face of Castro became
an international icon. The Cuban national sense of
identity developed within Cuba’s political stance
and position in the world, particularly vis-a`-vis
the U.S. policy of isolation. Many photographers
documented the revolutionary aspects of the day,
such as Alberto Korda, whose photograph of
Ernesto Che Guevara converted that revolutionary
figure into an international icon. Photography was
appropriated for revolutionary importance, though
some photographers produced slightly different
bodies of work, such as Tito Alvarez or Mario
Garcia Joya. Twentieth-century Cuban photogra-
phers include Alberto Diaz Gutierrez (Korda).
Born in Havana in 1928, Korda has lived and
worked with photography in Havana since 1956.
In 1959, he was named Fidel Castro’s official
photographer, and his Guerrillero Heroica is a
major publication in the history of photography.
Cuban photographer Mario Del Rosario (Mayito),
born in 1938, worked as an artist with various
agencies and exhibited as well as curated exhibi-
tions in Cuba, Europe, and America. Another
Cuban photographer, Ramon Grandal, born in
1950 in Havana, has been a professional photogra-
pher since 1970, exhibiting internationally and
working for the journalRevolucion y Cultura.M.
Eugenia Haya Jimenez (Marucha), born in Havana
in 1944, participated as a photographer and a wri-
ter in many exhibitions and publications, especially
in the last 15 years of the century. Marucha was
widely published internationally, including La
Fotografia Cubana en el Siglo XIX(Cuban Photo-
graphy in the XIX Century). Marucha died in
Havana in 1991. Finally, Cuban photographer
Gilda Perez, born in 1954 in Havana, exhibited
widely and worked for the reviewRevolucion.
Guatemala also has a rich history of photogra-
phy, though less a part of the international political
scene than Cuba. The Japanese photographer Juan
Jose de Jesus Yas (1844–1917) operated a formal
portrait studio producing numerous portraits of
priests. In the 1880s, Yas traveled in Central Amer-
ica, eventually studied with two Guatemalan photo-
graphers, and set up his own photo studio in
Guatemala City in 1890 before moving to Antigua.CENTRAL AMERICA, PHOTOGRAPHY IN