Book Review: Images of Latin America

• Author: Donald W. Bray,Marjorie W. Bray,Timothy F. Harding
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0094582X221121657
• Published date: 01 November 2022
• Date: 01 November 2022
• Subject Matter: Book Reviews

202 LATIN AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES

country until well into the twentieth century. Second, the sphere of flow is confused

with production and separated from class relationships. The integration of the country

into trade relationships does not mean its inclusion in the production process.

Another controversial topic explored in his book is the emergence of Torrijismo and

what it meant for the Panamanian social formation. Castillo argues that, in contrast to

what happened in other regions, where it was the result of the pressures of a strong

working class, a late-welfare-state model was promoted in Panama by the state itself,

which served as an intermediary between the working class and the rentier bourgeoisie.

However, it is not clear how a state captured by a business elite to maintain its privi-

leges and benefits was transformed into a welfare state with a new social pact—in other

words, in the face of a weak working class, partly due to the size of the industrial sector,

which social groups pushed for this transformation.

With this contribution, Castillo invites us to reflect on the challenges that this dual,

exclusionary development model poses for Panamanians in the construction of an

inclusive, integrated society that bridges the socio-territorial inequality gap. To save

this model, a social force that pursues new lines of accumulation and exploits them

sustainably for the benefit of the community is definitely required.

Images of Latin America

by

Donald W. Bray, Marjorie W. Bray, and Timothy F. Harding

Carlos Ugalde Andar por los senderos de nuestra América: A Cultural, Social and Political

Photographic Essay of Latin America. Placita del Che, 2019.

The photographs of Carlos Ugalde, a retired professor of Latin American and

Chicano studies at Glendale Community College, document his journeys and experi-

ences in Latin America, and in his recent photo essay Andar por los senderos de nuestra

América his thematic arrangements illuminate the common experiences, travails, and

inspiring transcendence of its activists, leaders, and victims. His originality and genius

reflect his interest in people making history from below. When in 1966 he leaned at a

dizzying angle from a steeple of Notre Dame to capture with his mother’s Brownie

camera the panorama of Paris all the way to Montmartre and the Sacre Coeur basilica,

he did not realize that he was beginning a lifelong love affair with the photographic

image and its power to convey the human condition. Now his photographs reflect his

interest in documenting the lives and struggles of the peoples of Mexico, Central

America, the Caribbean (Cuba, Haiti), and the continent all the way to Tierra del Fuego,

with particular attention to the Andean areas visited by Che Guevara on his iconic

motorcycle journey.

Ugalde’s ability to capture in brilliant color the pain and joy in the faces of the people

he met and their communities, rich cultural expressions, and stunning landscapes has

created a lasting archive of images that have been exhibited in galleries in the United

States, Cuba, Spain, and Mexico. His work reflects his almost uncanny ability to find

himself in places where moments of historic significance are unfolding, such as the

Professors emeriti Donald W. Bray, Marjorie W. Bray, and Timothy F. Harding taught political

science, Latin American studies, and history, respectively, at California State University Los

Angeles.