Eternal Spring, Eternal Tyranny: A Photographic Essay

July 26, 2010

by

Jean-Marie Simon

"En 1800, un visitante europeo llamó a Guatemala Tierra de la Eterna Primavera. Un siglo después, el político y ensayista guatemalteco Manuel Galich llamó a su país Tierra de la Eterna Tiranía. Para pocos, Guatemala es un paraíso. Para muchos, es todo lo contrario."

For the few, Guatemala is a paradise. For the many, it is the exact opposite. With these words, photojournalist Jean-Marie Simon begins the first chapter of a newly published collection of her photographs of the 1980s Guatemalan civil war. Her work, which spans the period from 1980 to 1988, documents the political repression and internal strife that shaped a generation.

Profiled in the Summer 2010 issue of Americas Quarterly, the book, Guatemala: Eterna Primavera, Eterna Tiranía (Guatemala: Eternal Spring, Eternal Tyranny), is the first Spanish-language edition of Simon's work. Its release is accompanied by a traveling exhibition in Guatemala featuring 40 photographs by the author.

View the slideshow for an extended preview of the photos. For more information, visit the book website or blog.

All photographs are copyright Jean-Marie Simon.

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