The “last photo” of Allende and its legend is the title of a report by Michel Guerrin, in the prestigious French newspaper Le Monde, from Sunday, September 10 to Monday, September 11, 2023. [1] After presenting and discussing some of the details and background of the photograph and of the presidential photographer, Leopoldo Vargas, in a full-page report, without advertisements, the report concludes:

Le photographe? Leopoldo Vargas, cet homme discret qui a probablement enregistré la « naissance » et la mort d’Allende– Le Monde.

Photographer Leopoldo [Víctor] Vargas is the discreet man who probably recorded Allende’s “birth” and death.

Why does it say that? Because presidential photographer Leopoldo Víctor Vargas made and preserved for posterity the two most important images of President Salvador Allende Gossens at La Moneda Palace, the seat of government in Chile. [2]

The first photograph is from November 3, 1970. On his first day as President of the Republic, after Allende was invested with the presidential sash in the National Congress, Leopoldo Vargas made the photograph that would be used as the Official Portrait of President Allende, in the Salón Rojo [Red Hall] of La Moneda. [3]

The second photograph corresponds to one he made on September 11, 1973, during the coup d’état. On that day, presidential photographer Leopoldo Vargas made six photos of Allende inside La Moneda. Among these, there is one that crushes the others to the point of being commonly called the “last photo of Allende”. It’s the iconic photograph that won the World Press Photo of the Year 1973 award in the Netherlands. [4]

In connection with the presentation of a new book, the French newspaper Le Monde interviewed the journalist, co-founder and president of the photo agency Contact Press Images:

Robert Pledge is the conductor of a fresh and moving book, Septembre au Chili, 1971/1973 (Atelier EXB, 192 p., 49 €), [5] in which he publishes and documents “the last photo of Allende”, along with two photo reportages: one by French photographer Raymond Depardon in 1971 in Allende’s Chile, and one by American photographer David Burnett in the wake of the putsch in September 1973. The famous photo embodies the transition from Allende’s Chile to Pinochet’s. (Le Monde)

The presentation of this book was held in conjunction with the opening of the exhibition of the photographs, Raymond Depardon – David Burnett, Septembre au Chili, 1971/1973, on Monday, September 11, 2023, at the gallery Le Chateau d’Eau, Toulouse, France. The exhibition was on display from September 11, 2023, until January 7, 2024.

The press visits and the opening of the exhibition to the public were attended by the artists; French photographer Raymond Depardon and American photographer David Burnett. On behalf of the late presidential photographer Leopoldo Victor Vargas two of his sons were also present- Leopoldo (Polo) and Alex Vargas Caroca. [6]

REFERENCES:

[1] See English Online version at The story of the ‘last photo’ of Salvador Allende, the Chilean president who killed himself in the 1973 coup, by Michel Guerrin, Published on September 11, 2023. See also La “dernière photo” d’Allende et sa légende, by Michel Guerrin, Le Monde newspaper, from Sunday, September 10 to Monday, September 11, 2023, page 19. As well as, the French Online version Ce que raconte vraiment « la dernière photo » de Salvador Allende, le président chilien qui s’est donné la mort après le coup d’Etat militaire de 1973, par Michel Guerrin, Publié le 10 septembre 2023, modifié le 11 septembre 2023.

[2] At great personal risk, Leopoldo Víctor Vargas had the courage to save, and protect these priceless photographic and historical documents, from the indiscriminate policy of destruction, of any documentation related to the Popular Unity government, that the Military Junta carried out after September 11, 1973.

[3] See Historia del retrato oficial del Presidente Salvador Allende, by Marcos J. Vargas, piensaChile.com digital newspaper, Monday, November 3, 2014. Also see Biblioteca Nacional custodiará retrato oficial del Presidente Allende, Memoria Chilena de la Biblioteca Nacional de Chile website, September 16, 2015.

[4] See Leopoldo Víctor Vargas, el fotógrafo de las últimas horas de Allende en La Moneda, by Hermes H. Benítez, piensaChile.com digital newspaper, June 25, 2012. See also ¿Quién fue el último fotógrafo de Salvador Allende en La Moneda?, by Alejandro Jofré, La Tercera de la Hora newspaper, Santiago de Chile, November 23, 2016. And, Seis instantáneas en La Moneda, by Francisco Marín, Proceso magazine, Semanario de Información y Análisis No. 1923, México, September 8, 2013, pp. 61-2.

[5] See the book Septiembre en Chile 1971/1973 (LOM Ediciones: Santiago de Chile), 2023, 192 pp.

[6] This paper was posted at Academia.edu on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. Originally posted in Spanish as Leopoldo Vargas el fotógrafo que registró el inicio como Presidente y la muerte de Allende, by Marcos J. Vargas Caroca, at piensachile.com digital magazine, November 3, 2023.