Marcelo Montecino studied literature and international relations in Washington, DC and later art theory at the Universidad de Chile in Santiago. As a photojournalist, he has documented the development of Chilean political events from Allende’s government to the reinstatement of democracy. Montecino has contributed to various publications, including Newsweek, The Washington Post Magazine and The Financial Times. In 1981, he published his book Con sangre en el ojo, which won first prize in the Proceso-Nuevo Imagen journalism competition. Montecino has also worked as an assistant producer for several television news programmes.

A young girl turns her head to look defiantly towards the camera; above her is a graffitied call for political resistance. This commanding photograph by Chilean photographer Marcelo Montecino was taken in 1979 in Managua, Nicaragua during what he remembers as one of the most significant moments in his career as a photojournalist – the victory of the Sandinista National Liberation Front against the Somoza dictatorship. From 1973 to 1988, he worked as a photojournalist, and throughout his 15-year career, he documented major political conflicts in Latin America. His candid approach to image-making enabled him to convey an intricate narrative in a single picture. ‘Spontaneity is the key,’ states Montecino, ‘I live for this incredible quality of photography that is its ability to quickly capture something that touches us.’