Marcos Chamúdez Reitich, also known as Marcos Chamudes (16 January 1907 – 25 June 1989) was a Chilean politician, photographer and journalist.

Family background

Marcos Chamúdez Reitich was born in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

on January 16, 1907, into a family of

Sephardic Jews Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

, son of Oscar Chamúdez and María Reitich, who arrived in Moisesville (the first Argentine colony of Russian Jewish immigrants) before settling in Chile.Karen Berestovoy: ''Photographer Marcos Chamudes''. In He studied at the National Institute and at the Barros Arana National Board (INBA).

Political career

Chamúdez excelled as a youth leader and in 1929 joined the Communist Party of Chile (CPC). Subsequently, he devoted himself to journalism and founded the newspaper ''Frente Popular'' and the magazine ''Qué Hayo''. He participated in the beginnings of the Communist Party of

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

and played a part in the Communist Party of Chile, being elected Member of Parliament for the Sixth Provincial Grouping of Valparaiso and

Quillota Quillota is a city located in the valley of the Aconcagua River in Valparaíso Region, Chile. It is the capital and largest city of Quillota Province. It is surrounded by the localities of San Isidro, La Palma, Pocochay, and San Pedro. It is ...

for the period 1937–1941 in the 1937 parliamentary elections.Carneiro, Maria Luiza Tucci (2007). O anti-semitismo nas Américas : memória e história. EDUSP, São Paulo, SP, Brasil He was a delegate in the Permanent Commission of Interior Government, in Constitution, Legislation and Justice, and in Labour and Social Legislation and a member of the Permanent Commission of Public Education. In the Chamber of Deputies he participated in passing laws authorising a loan of up to $25,000,000 in bonds to the national airline,

LAN Lan or LAN may refer to: Science and technology * Local asymptotic normality, a fundamental property of regular models in statistics * Longitude of the ascending node, one of the orbital elements used to specify the orbit of an object in space * ...

, a fiscal guarantee for purchase of equipment and radio-communications stations. In August 1937 with deputy Ricardo Latcham (socialist) and in June 1938 in the Senate he denounced illegal payments in exchange for immigration authorizations, which nevertheless continued with the discovery in 1939, that officials of the chancellery had sold Jews entry visas to Chile, in direct contravention of the law and consular rules. For the government of

Pedro Aguirre Cerda Pedro Abelino Aguirre Cerda (; February 6, 1879 – November 25, 1941) was a Chilean political figure, educator, and lawyer who served as the 22nd president of Chile from 1938 until his death in 1941. He was Political moderate, moderate. A me ...

, the Popular Front candidate for a coalition of Radicals, Socialists and Communists, the year 1938 brought fundamental change in the political history of Chile with the

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

government structure being replaced by one more progressive, though major cultural conflicts crossed economic, anthropological and sociological spheres. In this context Chamudes was expelled from the Communist Party on 29 September 1940 for unknown reasons, though he was accused of being a traitor in an article in the newspaper ''El Siglo'' on September 30, 1940. As a result of the expulsion, Chamudes chose to leave the country. His emigration to the United States of America signalled his change of sides for many Chilean communists; he became a staunch opponent of communism.

Photographer

Chamúdez' activity as a photographer spans the decades of the 1940s and 50s. On November 14, 1941, Chamúdez moved to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

with his wife Marta Vergara Varas, a prominent journalist and activist for women's rights with whose communist views he did not always agree, though their marriage remained strong. There he began his photographic activity, studying at the private School of Modern Photography, New York City, in portraiture, commercial and colour photography, then dedicating himself to a career as a photographer. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Chamúdez volunteered for the US Army and was accepted as a

war correspondent A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories first-hand from a war, war zone. War correspondence stands as one of journalism's most important and impactful forms. War correspondents operate in the most conflict-ridden parts of the wor ...

. He photographed on the European front where his best-known stories covered the release of prisoners from

concentration camps A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploit ...

and US military activity in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

under the command of General George Patton. He was decorated and subsequently was made a United States citizen, but had to renounce his Chilean citizenship. After the end of the war, Chamúdez settled in

Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

for eight months to work as a

freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

photographer and received commissions from

Marcial Mora Marcial Mora Miranda (January 12, 1895 – May 13, 1972) was a Chilean politician, and a minister in the cabinet of Chile in 1930s and 1940s. Mora was the president of Central Bank of Chile The Central Bank of Chile () is the central bank of Chi ...

, Chilean ambassador in the United States, in particular a portrait of

Gabriela Mistral Lucila Godoy Alcayaga (; 7 April 1889 – 10 January 1957), known by her pseudonym Gabriela Mistral (), was a Chilean poet-diplomat, educator, and Catholic. She was a member of the Secular Franciscan Order or Third Franciscan order. She was ...

at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

, after she had won the

Nobel Prize in Literature The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in ...

(1945). In 1946 his photographs of Latin American personalities taken in New York were exhibited in the Hall of Delegates of the Pan American Union (OAS) including portraits of the Peruvian painter

José Sabogal José Sabogal (March 19, 1888, in Cajabamba – December 15, 1956, in Lima) was a Peruvian painter, muralist, and educator. He was "the most renowned early supporter" and thus a leader in the artistic indigenist movement of his country. As Danie ...

and that of the Chilean writer Benjamín Subercaseaux. His activity as a war photographer continued in 1947 as a reporter for the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

when he traveled to Europe as an official photojournalist for the

Balkan The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

Commission of Inquiry. These pictures were carried by the ''

New York Herald Tribune The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the '' New York Tribune'' acquired the '' New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and compet ...

'' and ''La Nación de Chile'', while ''US Camera'' dedicated a space to them in its 1948 ''Yearbook''. and a set was exhibited in 1947 in the Delegate Room of the United Nations, as an annex to the debate on the report of the Balkan Commission of Investigation in the

Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

. He also covered unrest in

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

and

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

. From 1946 to 1949 he worked at the

International Refugee Organization The International Refugee Organization (IRO) was an intergovernmental organization founded on 20 April 1946 to deal with the massive refugee problem created by World War II. A Preparatory Commission began operations fourteen months previously. ...

. During this period, while covering events in different parts of the world, he also made portraits of important artists and writers including

Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

whom he portrayed in a cubist manner in pictures taken during the opening of an exhibition of ceramics by the artist in Paris in 1949, and displayed in Chamudes' first exhibition, in the Sala del Pacifico, Santiago in 1951 along with portraits of

Jorge Amado Jorge Amado ( 10 August 1912 – 6 August 2001) was a Brazilian writer of the modernist school. He remains the best-known of modern Brazilian writers, with his work having been translated into some 49 languages and popularized in film, includi ...

Paul Éluard Paul Éluard (), born Eugène Émile Paul Grindel (; 14 December 1895 – 18 November 1952), was a French poet and one of the founders of the Surrealist movement. In 1916, he chose the name Paul Éluard, a matronymic borrowed from his maternal ...

Joan Miró Joan Miró i Ferrà ( , ; ; 20 April 1893 – 25 December 1983) was a Catalan Spanish painter, sculptor and Ceramic art, ceramist. A museum dedicated to his work, the Fundació Joan Miró, was established in his native city of Barcelona ...

Pablo Neruda Pablo Neruda ( ; ; born Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto; 12 July 190423 September 1973) was a Chilean poet-diplomat and politician who won the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature. Neruda became known as a poet when he was 13 years old an ...

Rufino Tamayo Rufino del Carmen Arellanes Tamayo (August 25, 1899 – June 24, 1991) was a Mexican painter of Zapotec peoples, Zapotec heritage, born in Oaxaca City, Oaxaca de Juárez, Mexico.Sullivan, 170-171Ades, 357 Tamayo was active in the mid-20th cen ...

Irene Curie Irene is a name derived from εἰρήνη (eirēnē), Greek for "peace". Irene, and related names, may refer to: * Irene (given name) Places * Irene, Gauteng, South Africa * Irene, South Dakota, United States * Irene, Texas, United States ...

and

Julian Huxley Sir Julian Sorell Huxley (22 June 1887 – 14 February 1975) was an English evolutionary biologist, eugenicist and Internationalism (politics), internationalist. He was a proponent of natural selection, and a leading figure in the mid-twentiet ...

. A contemporary review in the journal ''Pro arte'' 'Trasfondo en las fotos de Chamudes' by painter Víctor Carvacho (1916–1996) praised the artistic quality of the exhibition, and another, by Austrian-born fellow Chilean photographer Ignacio Hochhaüsler (1892-1983)
emphasised its humanist content

Seldom has a photographer impressed me as much as Marco Chamudes. With a firm pulse, confident eyes and a big heart, he has captured fleeting moments of life, which cause emotion and stir up the conscience. He has gone through the countries of the world with his camera, without bringing us spring scenery, light effects, trees in bloom, or romantic retreats. He teaches us nostalgia, desolation, human suffering and weakness and also, some hope and optimism.

A little about the exhibition; ''A piece of bread'': a Greek woman holds a piece of bread in her hand and asks for more; a little girl next to her with a hungry face and full of envy. That photo oppresses the heart. In the next, we see a group of priests, apparently happy. A widow sitting in a passage reflects despair. ''Sunday in Warsaw''; carefree people move through a square with ruins of feudal mansions. Paris: ''Existentialism'': an idyll of today, ''Flea Market'': a still life with humorous originality. ''New York'': A very dynamic Harlem; a painter paints "Bohemia in Greenwich Village" on the public pavement. Like a relic of the last century, an elderly couple walks through the colonial suburbs, elegantly dressed. Two Austrian Jews, thin and weak, wander aimlessly after years of concentration camp. In front of the Cathedral of Bamberg, two women who have seen better times, chatter animatedly. ''Displaced'': A group of sorrowful photos for which there are no words to describe such misery; children crying, old women holding out their hands, a woman searching unsuccessfully for her granddaughter. Beings without hope or future. The
Oktoberfest Oktoberfest (; ) is the world's largest , featuring a beer festival and a travelling carnival, and is held annually in Munich, Bavaria, from mid- or late-September to the first Sunday in October. The annual event attracts more than seven milli ...
in
Münich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
, with its overflowing joy, serves as a counterpoint. Imposing vistas of the Acropolis of Athens. Millenarian temples of white marble, cut out from the immense and deep sky. (Caption for accompanying photograph: ''Ruins of the Acropolis'', another sample of true interest that is exhibited in the photo exhibition of Marcos Chamudea in the Sala del Pacifico). A portrait of Pablo Picasso, of giant size, elicits admiration.

Pablo Neruda, looking over a balcony, then in another photograph, browsing at the bouquinistes along the Seine, and in another, buying snails for his famous collation. Rome in the holy year is captured with originality. ''Toscanini del Tránsito'' shows a policeman masterfully directing street traffic with elegant gestures worthy of an orchestra conductor. Shots of
Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...
and
Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito ( ; , ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and politician who served in various positions of national leadership from 1943 until his death ...
. Among the portraits which stand out are those of
Claudio Arrau Claudio Arrau León (; February 6, 1903June 9, 1991) was a Chilean and American pianist known for his interpretations of a vast repertoire spanning the baroque music, baroque to 20th-century classical music, 20th-century composers, especially B ...
,
Ilya Ehrenburg Ilya Grigoryevich Ehrenburg (, ; – August 31, 1967) was a Soviet writer, revolutionary, journalist and historian. Ehrenburg was among the most prolific and notable authors of the Soviet Union; he published around one hundred titles. He becam ...
, Gonzalez Vera, Santiago Labarca, Arturo Matte,
Marcial Mora Marcial Mora Miranda (January 12, 1895 – May 13, 1972) was a Chilean politician, and a minister in the cabinet of Chile in 1930s and 1940s. Mora was the president of Central Bank of Chile The Central Bank of Chile () is the central bank of Chi ...
and other important personalities. By capturing the faces of beautiful Chilean ladies, he reveals a talent for psychology.

The work of Marcus Chamudes is the result of tireless effort, great enthusiasm and enormous human feeling. His photographs are well composed, treated with patience, making a rich and detailed repertoire devoid of cheap effects. His imagery is never unsightly nor in bad taste or crude. Chamudes plans to travel through Chile. We hope for no results of the extremes of those appreciated in this exhibition.

Journalist in Chile

Chamúdez returned to Chile in 1951, where he served as a photojournalist for the Economic and Social Council and as the official photographer for President

Gabriel González Videla Gabriel Enrique González Videla (; 22 November 1898 – 22 August 1980) was a Chilean politician and lawyer who served as the 24th president of Chile from 1946 to 1952. He had previously been a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 1930 ...

, while also setting up his own studio and gallery. He regained his Chilean citizenship through an act of parliament. As a columnist and radio broadcaster he produced the news program ''Beware, do not deny me!'' on Radio Agriculture, until in 1954 he moved to Radio Cooperativa Vitalicia with the program ''Marcos Chamudes reports and comments''. For Magnum in 1952 he travelled travel to

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

to cover the National Revolutionary Movement. From this work, one of his images, an heroic ''Portrait of a Bolivian Miner'' was selected by

Edward Steichen Edward Jean Steichen (; March 27, 1879 – March 25, 1973) was a Luxembourgish American photographer, painter and curator and a pioneer of fashion photography. His gown images for the magazine ''Art et Décoration'' in 1911 were the first modern ...

and exhibited at the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

in New York (MoMA) in the 1955 exhibition

The Family of Man ''The Family of Man'' was an ambitious exhibition of 503 photographs from 68 countries curated by Edward Steichen, the director of the New York City Museum of Modern Art's (MoMA) department of photography. According to Steichen, the exhibitio ...

which went on to tour the world and was seen by an audience of 9 million. From 1956 Chamúdez was a correspondent of the magazine ''Visión'' in Buenos Aires, reporting from Argentina,

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

and with visits to Bolivia and

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

. Turning from photography to dedicate himself to journalism, on May 1, 1959, Chamúdez was appointed director of the newspaper ''La Nacion'' until 1961, when he edited the southern edition of the magazine ''Visión''. In 1963, he founded and directed the weekly ''Politica, Cultura e Economia (PEC)'', the main anticommunist platform of the time.

Later life

Chamúdez encountered opposition from the CCP which accused him of being a

traitor Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

, and in response, in 1964, he published his autobiography entitled ''El libro blanco de mi leyenda negra'' ('The white book of my black legend').Sater, W. (1979). A Survey of Recent Chilean Historiography, 1965-1976. Latin American Research Review, 14(2), 55. After the victory of

Salvador Allende Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens (26 June 1908 – 11 September 1973) was a Chilean socialist politician who served as the 28th president of Chile from 1970 until Death of Salvador Allende, his death in 1973 Chilean coup d'état, 1973. As a ...

in the elections of 1970 he emigrated to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

where he lived until 1973. He died on June 25, 1989, and was cremated in a sparsely attended funeral.

Legacy

Most of his photographs are in the archive of th
National Historical Museum of Chile
Plaza de Armas 951, Santiago, Chile while the rest are in the collection of writer Luis Rivano.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chamúdez, Marcos 1907 births 1989 deaths Artists from Santiago, Chile Politicians from Santiago, Chile Chilean Sephardi Jews Communist Party of Chile politicians Radical Party of Chile politicians Radical Democracy (Chile) politicians Deputies of the XXXVIII Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Chilean photographers 20th-century Sephardi Jews 20th-century Chilean journalists