\u00a0Between 1955 and 1965 Ram\u00f3n Masats traveled across Spain with his camera and an obsession in his head: to portray the topics through which the official culture was blessing the patriotic values. He began his career as a contributor to several publications, and this trip allowed him to develop an<\/em> innovative work that revolutionized the sad panorama of the official photography, which was still entangled in its dependence on the aesthetic rules that the classical order had imposed on the new discipline.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Masats’ work coincided with the end of the autarky period under Franco’s regime and the subsequent opening up that was planned by the government. This opening up was facilitated by the establishment of the Ministry of Information and Tourism in 1951, as well as the National Tourism Plan in 1953. \u00abVisit Spain\u00bb was the first official propaganda message that was used during this time.<\/p>\n

During that era, although television was in its early stages of development, photography remained the ideal medium for recognition and self-exploration. Photographic reportage gained significant interest from people, and the best photographers were hired to capture the world through their lenses. The reportage format was consolidated, and photography received its ultimate exaltation in the renowned exhibition \u00abThe Family of Man,\u00bb curated by Edward Steichen and held at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1955.<\/p>\n

In that same year, Spain was admitted to the United Nations, which marked the country’s first significant step towards international recognition. The urgent need to get out of the autarkic isolation and to solve the severe problems of development, turned tourism into the industry where all dreams and aspirations of progress could be a possible reality.<\/p>\n

The government developed structures that facilitated the arrival of visitors and devised tourist plans that fueled the boom of the following decade. Borders were opened, transportation was promoted, and tourist slogans were created to define the country as unique and distinctive, with a focus on themes such as sun, bulls, dance, and gastronomy, all at unbeatable prices.<\/p>\n

In this context, Masats embarked on his personal journey, focusing on traditional and folkloric rituals that he describes as clich\u00e9. His account paints a picture of a country trapped in material poverty, constrained by social norms, and bound by spiritual beliefs. Masats’ powerful imagery and ironic gaze exemplified the new imprint of documentary photography, where the photographer’s personality constructs a suggestion beyond the mere optical reality of the photographic image. The final interpretation of the image remains solely in the hands of the viewer. Masats’ photographic suggestions have successfully colonized our memories.<\/p>\n

Text by Chema Conesa<\/p>\n

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