Image Center - Ministry of Culture of Mexico
Raquel Miguel Soto, Alfonso Navarrete, Alejandro Zepeda and Ana Victoria Pichardo Cruz
Museum room register (2025) by Elic HerreraImage Center - Ministry of Culture of Mexico
Decisive moments
Before 1925, photographic formats were larger and more static. Although compact cameras have existed since the beginning of the twentieth century, photographic lightness was achieved with the introduction of the Leica I.
Thanks to the efforts of Oskar Barnack and Ernst Leitz II, the discretion and precision of Leica cameras transformed the relationship between photographers and their subjects. Today, one hundred years later, we celebrate that legacy at the Centro de la Imagen in Mexico City.
Museum room register (2025) by Elic HerreraImage Center - Ministry of Culture of Mexico
Witnesses of a century
For three decades, the Image Center has been a space open to reflection and photographic experimentation.
Museum room register (2025) by Elic HerreraImage Center - Ministry of Culture of Mexico
On this wall, composed of images from decades and contexts, one can observe the different nuances and tones that Leica cameras can achieve when used to serve the Latin American perspective.
Museum room register (2025) by Elic HerreraImage Center - Ministry of Culture of Mexico
Voices that look and tell
Creadores de distintas épocas y de distintos rincones de América Latina abren una ventana diferente a la memoria, la lucha, la intimidad y la belleza cotidiana, como Colette Urbajtel, Francisco Mata Rosas, Héctor Guerrero, Juan Guzmán, Koral Carballo y Manuel Álvarez Bravo, entre otros.
Firework castle in the Niño Jesús neighborhood (1990) by Manuel Álvarez BravoImage Center - Ministry of Culture of Mexico
More than a camera, a language
Leica no solo transformó la tecnología. Abrió un lenguaje que permitió contar historias latinoamericanas en primera persona.
Research and memory
Comisariada por Manolo Márquez, la exposición combina la colección histórica de Leica con la investigación local realizada por el Centro de la Imagen, destacando las perspectivas latinoamericanas contemporáneas.
Mictlan (1989) by Francisco Mata RosasImage Center - Ministry of Culture of Mexico
It was a simple matter of research, and of course, this investigation is incomplete and fragmented, but it's a first step toward trying to gain a more complete overview of Mexican and Latin American production using Leica.
Manolo Márquez, Director of the Leica Mexico City Gallery
Boy with a bicycle and balloons (1963) by Bob SchalkwijkImage Center - Ministry of Culture of Mexico
Towards a contemporary vision
Leica transformó la fotografía: de imágenes estáticas a vistas vibrantes y vibrantes. Hoy, seguimos explorando el mundo a través de su lente, capturando la vida cotidiana con asombro y libertad.
Complement your visit to the exhibition
See more photographs that make up the photo wall Exhibition booklet. The Essential Look. 100 years of Leica and its connection with Latin America.
Book (2025) by Elic HerreraImage Center - Ministry of Culture of Mexico
Discover the selected bibliography as an accompaniment
The Essential View. 100 Years of Leica and Its Connection to Latin America
Bibliography
Alfonso Navarrete, Alejandro Zepeda, Raquel Miguel Soto, Ana Victoria Pichardo Cruz.
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