Text: Luis Priamo. In 4th (23.3 x 26.2 cm), 130 pages, 1 sheet. Paperback publisher binding with wide flaps. Buenos Aires. Ceppa Editions Foundation. 2023.
We can affirm that the General Archive of the Nation protects true photographic treasures linked to our history, such as the case, for example, of the numerous images generated during the first and second presidency of Juan Domingo Perón (1946-1955), thanks to the efficient photographic equipment of the Undersecretariat of Public Information of the Presidency of the Nation, directed by the journalist and politician Raúl Alejandro Apold (1898-1980).
From that enormous visual volume, the renowned photographic historian Luis Priamo selected the emblematic record "La vida por Perón", to illustrate the cover of his recent book titled "Photography and political propaganda", which brings together the best Peronist iconography only during the months of April, May, June and July of 1951.
Under the text "Residents of Santiago del Estero who came on foot visited General Perón and his wife in the presidency. 7/16/1951". According to the journalistic chronicle, these are the walkers who marched for forty-three days to ask Perón to present his candidacy in the December general elections. The governor of the province, Carlos Juárez, also participated in the visit to the Government House. The delegation presented the president and his wife with a parchment and a typical drum from the region.
Like all of Luis Priamo's editorial projects, we will say that this initiative germinated around the year 2001, when our researcher finally accessed this set of negatives - still in their large entry packages and which were outside the consultation room - in the basements of the AGN. , which were accompanied by press releases intended for the different media and, consequently, it was decided to organize a special exhibition at the same AGN.
This work compiles more than 80 full-page black and white photographs of surprising quality and printed as only Priamo gets from the publishers that he carefully chooses for his books. On this occasion it was the firm Akian Gráfica, under the art and layout supervision of Fabio Massolo. The digitization was carried out by veteran Julio Ojeda and Ricardo Farías, while the entire project had the enthusiastic support of the Ceppa Ediciones Foundation directed by Matteo Goretti.
Going through its 130 pages means taking an incredible visual journey more than 70 years away and where the figures of Perón and Evita are the axis of endless public events such as parades, entertainments and partisan or popular demonstrations. Also highlighting are emotional scenes of work and production, important visits and charismatic figures of the time such as Pedro Quartucci, Enrique Santos Discépolo, Leopoldo Marechal, Fanny Navarro or Hugo del Carril himself.
This new photographic book reaffirms the natural leadership of Luis Priamo as the most important historian and photographic editor of our country, a cultural militancy that already has many decades of tireless work in favor of our old photographs.
Abel Alexander
President. Ibero-American Society of History of Photography
