Portugal, 1974: 50 years of carnations

One of the fundamental characteristics of photography since its inception is to bear witness to reality, not only recording it but also interpreting it. Simultaneously, photographic practice fulfills a social function: it shapes community understanding through its political, historical, and cultural implications.

This is the foundation of RocioSantaCruz’s proposal, which goes beyond the purely aesthetic deba- te surrounding photography to demonstrate its social and critical relevance.

Under these premises, the RocioSantaCruz gallery joins the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Carnation Revolution in Portugal (1974) with this two-person exhibition featuring works by photographers Paco Elvira and Jean Marie del Moral.

The exhibition project brings together a selection of photographs by Elvira and del Moral – vintage prints in the first case, and recent copies in the second – taken in Portugal during and just after the Carnation Revolution.

The proposal constitutes an unprecedented document in exhibition terms: two deep and emotio- nal perspectives to refresh the understanding of the political and social challenge that drove that structural change, resulting in numerous social gains, changing Portugal’s history, and widening the path of progressive ideas internationally.

Paco Elvira and Jean Marie del Moral were direct participants in the events in Portugal during the uprising on April 25, 1974, and six months later, respectively. Their lenses captured the context with realism. The public will be able to see the resulting images in the form of an exhibition for the first time.

Catalan photographer Paco Elvira was the first Spanish photojournalist to arrive in Portugal once the events began. He was a direct witness to the uprising; the result is images that reflect the effervescence and revolutionary spirit that were experienced.

Jean Marie del Moral arrived six months later to do a report for the magazine l’Humanité Diman- che; his lens was able to echo the social transformations that were happening just after the histo- ric milestone.

In addition to the great historical and documentary value of the photographic records, the artistic value and poetic gaze of the authors on the peaceful uprising that became a world reference must be highlighted.