Carlos Fuentes. México. Circa 1968.

Vintage black and white gelatin silver print. Measurements: 14.1 x 11.9 cm / 5.55 x 4.68 in. With its margins blank. On the back, a wet stamp with the author's advertising: "Photos - Ricardo Salazar - Mexico". And then various annotations indicate that the image served as an illustration for a publication of its time. Work in perfect condition. Former Montes i Bradley collection.

This character portrait is dedicated and signed: "To the great friend and critic Montes i Bradley: Much Frondizi and Zero Fronds. His friend Carlos Fuentes." (1) As a gesture of respect for Ricardo Salazar's work, Fuentes wrote the dedication on the margins of the portrait. The reference to Dr. Arturo Frondizi (1908-1995) speaks clearly of his lively political talks with the recipient of the photograph.

In a play of light and shadow, Salazar opted for a powerful light source that, from the left, shapes that manly face; for this half-length shot he uses a blurred library as a suggestive background to create the necessary intellectual climate.

The multi-award-winning writer Carlos Fuentes (1928-2012) was born in Panama, where his father worked as an accredited diplomat, and he spent his childhood in various capitals of America, such as Montevideo, Rio de Janeiro, Washington D.C. Santiago de Chile, Quito and Buenos Aires. Initiated very young in journalism, he soon excelled in Latin American letters along with great figures such as Octavio Paz and others and, at the same time, became involved in the politics of his country.

This portrait was made by the camera of a true specialist, the Mexican Ricardo Salazar Ahumada (1922-2006), who worked for the National Autonomous University of Mexico, the National Culture Fund and important journalistic media in that country; he specialized in portraits of Mexican writers, intellectuals, and artists, with some of whom he befriended. In 2006 the UNAM acquired its photographic archive made up of more than 22,000 photographs.

Note:

1. To consult the biography of Montes i Bradley, see item 34.