Evandro Teixeira. Chile 1973

 

The first exhibition of the Instituto Moreira Salles dedicated to the work of the photographer Evandro Teixeira, Chile 1973, is an occasion for celebration and reflection.

For the IMS, this is a privileged moment to celebrate the career of one of the greatest Brazilian photojournalists, a leading figure in the pages of Jornal do Brasil during one of the most important moments of the Brazilian press, and an alert witness to the leaden years of the military dictatorship. In a public context marked by incessant attacks on independent journalism and the return of authoritarian temptations, the figure of Evandro gains even more acute relevance and dignity.

For this very reason, by entrusting us with the care of his vast collection of images in 2019, Evandro also bequeathed to us a great responsibility in terms of conservation, curation and editing, adding to the project that the IMS has dedicated to Brazilian photojournalism, which, to name just a few examples, ranges from the exhibition in O Cruzeiro magazine to the Testemunha Ocular website, including the recovery of Luciano Carneiro’s work.

Therefore, Chile 1973 will be just one of the first actions inspired by Evandro's collection. We decided to start with it in view of the fiftieth anniversary of the military coup that overthrew Salvador Allende, the elected president of Chile, on September 11, 1973, in the wave of authoritarian regimes that swept Latin America, from Brazil in 1964 to Argentina in 1976. The date calls for memory and reflection, not only to honor those who resisted and fought in those difficult times, but also because the desire for democracy in our countries is once again facing threats that are far from fictitious.

An example of this is the renewed suspicion that the death of the poet Pablo Neruda in a clinic in Santiago, a few days after the coup, was more than a tragedy, but a State crime, similar in every way to the one committed by the Military Junta at the same time in the National Stadium. In this case, too, the widely published photographs that Evandro took in the clinic and in the stadium regain all their relevance, 50 years after they were taken.

A project like Chile 1973 would not have been possible without the collaboration of many people and institutions. In particular, we would like to thank Evandro Teixeira for the attention he has given to our teams and to all aspects of the work. We would also like to thank the Fundación Neruda in Santiago, in the person of its executive director, Fernando Sáenz, for his enthusiasm, but also for his work in identifying several people photographed in Santiago, especially during Pablo Neruda’s wake and funeral. Maria Hermínia Tavares de Almeida and Alejandro Chacoff, who were invited to collaborate on the catalogue, offered us luminous texts, for which we are more than grateful. Finally, our sincere thanks go to the curator, Sergio Burgi, and to the various IMS teams who did their best to bring Chile 1973 to a successful conclusion.

 

Marcelo Mattos Araujo
General Director

João Fernandes
Artistic Director