This image is taken from Michel Setboun’s third book about agencies. Eighty reporters were chosen to comment on one iconic image taken during their careers. The image we’re publishing today is a picture by David Burnett.
“I was part of the first group of journalists allowed to enter Chile. It was September 1973, only two weeks after the military coup that brought Pinochet to power. The new authorities organized a press visit to show the outside world that everything was well. Nobody knew anything.
I wanted to escape from the guided tour and show more of what was happening. I managed to get away to the outside of the stadium. I knew there were prisoners inside but I didn’t know what state they were in. I was arrested and detained for a few hours.
At the end of the visit, we were pushed towards the exit. Several journalists tried to resist. We wanted to see what they were hiding from us and take as many “unofficial” as possible. When I took these, the authorities thought the journalists had left. They brought in the political prisoners. This photograph is completely unforeseen, as was the whole situation. What makes the image powerful is how much character it has. This man, Daniel Cespedes, had just been arrested and brought to the stadium. He had no idea what was going to happen to him. The image is important because it reveals what is hidden. Cespedes was tortured and released six weeks later.”
Interview by Marie Cousin
