Chamudes Reitich, Marcos

In 1938, during the government of Pedro Aguirre Cerda, he was elected as a deputy for the Communist Party; however, in 1940, he was expelled from it. The charges expressed did not mention a specific cause. Years later, Pablo Neruda offered him reintegration into the party; however, the journalist rejected the offer. As a consequence of his expulsion, Chamudes chose to emigrate to the United States and adopt the citizenship of that country. His photographic activity began in New York, where he was in contact with avant-garde movements. After the United States joined World War II, the artist enlisted in the army as a soldier-photographer. From this period are his photographs of liberated concentration camp inmates, American soldiers in Germany, and General Patton, among others. A few years later, in 1947, he joined the United Nations as an official reporter for the Balkan conflict and later as a reporter for the International Refugee Organization in Germany. During his stay in Europe, he associated with intellectuals and artists such as Jorge Amado, Joan Miró, Pablo Neruda, and Pablo Picasso, whom he photographed. Back in Chile in 1951, he devoted himself to disseminating the images taken during those 10 years. Among other activities, he opened his own exhibition hall in Santiago in his studio. The quality and style of his images earned him exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and at the United Nations, among others. However, in the mid-1950s, he began to distance himself from photographic activity and to increasingly dedicate himself to written journalism, through which he developed a critical attitude towards national politics. During this period, Chamudes held various positions, such as international correspondent, director of the newspaper La Nación, along with writing multiple articles and books. After the victory of the Popular Unity, Chamudes self-exiled to Argentina, where he continued his work as a journalist and published his photographs. He returned to Chile in the 1980s.