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• Seventy fifth images which make a review of the last seventy five years through some of the great news which took place during those years can be seen at La Paz in the exhibit EFE: 75 años en fotos

The exhibit, which takes place as a result of the 75th anniversary of the Spanish news agency was inaugurated by AGENCIA EFE’s Chairperson, Mr. José Antonio Vera; the Spanish Ambassador at La Paz, Mr. Ángel Vázquez, and the acting-Ambassador for the European Union (EU), Mr. Alain Bothorel.

The event was also attended by the Bolivian Minister for Communications, Ms. Amanda Dávila, and by representatives from the city council of La Paz, as well as from other Spanish institutions and companies.

Of the 75 images, 50 are located at Spain’s cultural center in La Paz (CCELP), and reflect events which took place in Spain and in Latin America during these seven decades and a half.

On these photographs, EFE’s graphic journalists captured for history key moments for the region’s history, such as the death of Ms. Evita Perón, the terrorist attack against the Twin Towers in New York, the election of the first Latin American Pope, the Argentine Mr. Jorge Mario Bergoglio, sporting victories and natural disasters.

The images also reflect the smile and the pride, such as that which portraits a young Mario Moreno Cantinflas dressed as a bullfighter, or the writers Octavio Paz and Gabriel García Márquez being told that they had won the Literature Nobel Prize.

The remaining 25 images bring the celebration of Agencia EFE to the inhabitants of La Paz, and this is the reason why Bolivia is its main protagonist, and they have been taken as panels to the avenue Paseo de El Prado.

Freedom of speech in Democracy

Under the heading “Libertad de expresión en democracia” (Freedom of speech in Democracy), these images review the many ways in which Bolivians make use of freedom of speech for demanding their rights, such as the protest during the Gas War, the defense of coca leaves chewing, or the recent conflict of the military.

Besides, it reflects other ways for expressing oneself freely, such as the way the indigenous Aimaras women dress, or the children who in the past took over the tools for the political power.

The selection of these images has been made in collaboration with the city council of La Paz.

When he inaugurated this exhibit, EFE’s Chairperson pointed out that it is a very “summarized” exhibit of the news agency’s archives, which has 15 Million photographs.

He also stressed the link which EFE holds with Latin America, since of the 75 years of existence of the Spanish news agency, it has been present for 50 years in the region.

The Spanish Ambassador highlighted that EFE had put “its photographic focus” on the region, as he thinks that the news agency constitutes one of the “most important” tools for “reinforcing the relationship between Spain and Latin America”. The European Union representative pointed out that for the European block “it constitutes a privilege” to participate in EFE’s anniversary since the Spanish news agency “is a paradigm of that which the EU defends; freedom of speech”.

The Minister Ms. Dávila said that EFE allows “seeing with Latin American eyes the regional and world reality”, and she also highlighted the respectful relationship which it maintains with the Bolivian Government.

The commemorative exhibit has been possible thanks to the Spanish Embassy in Bolivia, the CCELP, the Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo, AECID (Spanish agency for international development cooperation), the European Union, the city council of La Paz, the Fondo para el Desarrollo de la Cuenca del Plata, Fonplata (fund for the development of the La Plata region) and the Universidad Católica Boliviana.

The exhibit, which will be open for the public until July 16th, is also sponsored by the Spanish companies Repsol, Air Europa, Técnicas Reunidas and Maxam.

About EFE

EFE is a multimedia news agency in which collaborate more than 3,000 professionals from 60 countries.

It is the first news agency in Spanish language and the fourth in the world in terms of international presence, with edition desks in English, Portuguese, Arab, Catalonian, and Galician, and with offices in 180 cities from 120 countries.

Agencia EFE and Grupo SEPI

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 workforce of more than 75,000 professionals in 2012; it also includes 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 nine companies, and indirect shareholdings in more than one hundred companies.