Las inimaginables imágenes de Héctor García

Abstract

The understanding of modern historical processes would be incomplete if we did not address the variety of sources available for study. In this sense, photography is a key element whose presence in contemporary visual discourse confers undeniable importance. This article makes use of images from photojournalism through the qualities of one of its foremost twentieth-century Mexican exponents, Hector Garcia, and one of his most iconic works, Ojo! Una revista que ve, to analyze some facets of the social history of contemporary Mexico.

It is based on the uniqueness of an unprecedented and surprising find, the product of archival work, that reveals the contents of issue two of the magazine, unthinkably produced by the circumstances described. These contents refer us to immediate problems of the moment, but that are explained if we consider perspectives and long-lasting structures. Thus, we present a historical analysis that sheds light on the aesthetic and symbolic aspects of photography.