GIJÓN, Spain — Javier Bauluz (left), myself and Esther at the “13 Encuentro Internacional de Fotoperiodismo Ciudad de Gijón,” this past week. The event, which is focused on human rights around the world, ended this weekend. Esther and I conducted a three-day backpack journalism workshop during our week-long stay.
18 JULY 1979 — With President Anastasio Somoza Debayle having fled Nicaragua just ahead of a tidal wave of violent opposition, his supporters still in the country jockeyed for power. The Sandinistas called any alternative to their rule “Somocismo without Somoza,” and rejected it as “unacceptable.” Above, Sandinistas and their supporters marched victoriously and defiantly […]
17 JULY 1979 — The national convulsion had nearly ended. As the caption of the above picture states, it was rumored that Somoza had fled the country. American and Nicaraguan politicians maneuvered to fill the vacuum. Maneuvered for power. But the opportunity for negotiation had long evaporated. Having exhausted all the peaceful means for change, […]
16 JULY 1979 — By this time just about everybody knew it was almost over. Such an extraordinary experience. To witness and document a corrupt, brutal government being overthrown by the collective will of its people. The only question at this point was how many more Nicaraguans would have to suffer or die before Somoza […]
13 JULY 1979 — As the Somoza regime clung to power during its final days, hunger spread across Nicaragua. Above, the Red Cross delivered emergency food supplies to a country disrupted by war and whose population no longer was able to feed itself. The image making and storytelling skills I acquired during this conflict are […]
15 JULY 2009 — Javier Bauluz introduces me prior to my presentation on backpack journalism at the 13 Encuentro Internacional Fotoyperiodismo in Gijon, Spain. The theme of the festival is human rights. Javier and I worked together covering the civil war in El Salvador during the 1980s. Photo by Alberto Prieto.