EFE’s photographs about the attempted coup on February 23rd shared with Google’s users
23 February 2016 | Madrid
The photos from the graphical archive of the Spanish state-owned news agency AGENCIA EFE about the attempted coup d’état on February 23rd, 1981 in Spain are shared from today with Google’s users, on the 35th anniversary of a day in which the Spanish democracy lived through one of its most difficult moments.
A selection made up by more than fifty photographs from EFE’s graphical archive, which is made up by more than 16 Million images, reflect once again the graphical journalism made by the news agency, and join up the project from the Google Cultural Institute, the platform on which more than one thousand cultural institutions have opened up their collections to Internet.
Historical photographs
The collection of photographs were made by EFE’s photographers Mr. Manuel Pérez Barriopedro, who won the World Press Photo Award 1981, and Mr. Manuel Hernández de León, winner of Spain’s National Journalism Award in 1981, who immortalized through their cameras the attempted coup at the Lower Chamber of Parliament carried out by members from Spanish security forces commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Mr. Antonio Tejero.
Among them are unique photographs, such as that which shows Tejero entering into the Lower House of Parliament with 200 members of the security forces behind him when Mr. Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo was about to be voted as President of Government and shouted: 'Everybody still!”, or the struggle maintained by the then Vice President of the Government, Mr. Manuel Gutiérrez Mellado and the interim President of Government Mr. Adolfo Suárez, with the police officers.
EFE’s graphical exhibition shows the historical moments lived 35 years ago, thus allowing to review those instants and recalling all what happened during the last few decades.
Mr. Hernández de León, who also won the Award King of Spain for Latin American Journalism for his photographs about the attempted coup, told at the time that he managed to take the photo reels, which became known all over the world, hiding them “in the underpants”.
He pointed out also that at 11:20 pm the first image of the attempted coup was delivered to EFE’s subscribers, soon to be joined by those from his coworker Mr. Barriopedro.
It was precisely Mr. Barriopedro, who was seated at the stand for the photojournalists in front of that on which was his coworker, who heard the shouts and shoots coming from the outside of the Chamber, who began to take shoots with his camera without stopping until Tejero arrived to the Chamber, pistol in hand.
'I took photos without knowing what I was doing, and I had time for taking an eleven photo sequence”, told Mr. Barriopedro on several occasions, while his coworker, who was at the stand in front of him, was able to take between 18-20 photographs from a 36-photos reel.
EFE EN Google Cultural Institute
Five years after the launch of the Google Cultural Institute, which was set up with an agreement with 17 museums which download in Internet hundreds of works of art, the news agency Agencia EFE has also joined up this project, including a new collection about the attempted coup d’état on February 23rd, 1981.
This collection joins up the previous three ones about the Heroes of Spanish sport, Madrid during the Civil War, and about the last period in the life of the painter Mr. Salvador Dalí, all of which were made public on January 21st, 2016.
Photo: Madrid, 23/02/1981 – Lieutenant Colonel Mr. Tejero bursts, pistol in hand, into Spain’s Lower Chamber of Parliament during the second voting on the appointment of Mr. Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo as President of Government. EFE/ Manuel P. Barriopedro.
AGENCIA EFE and Grupo SEPI
The Spanish state-owned news agency AGENCIA EFE belongs to Grupo SEPI, a corporate holding which includes a total of 16 state-owned companies in which it has direct, majority shareholding participations, with a final workforce of around 73,000 professionals in 2014; the Spanish state-owned television and radio corporation, Corporación Radiotelevisión Española, which is attached to SEPI, and one public foundation. Equally, SEPI has direct minority shareholdings in a further ten companies, and indirect shareholdings in more than one hundred companies.