On Tuesday, coinciding with the opening of the exhibition, the Historical Memory Documentary Center in Salamanca will host a conference on the end of dictatorships and the transition to democracy in Portugal, Spain, and Greece.
At the conference titled “Commemorating Democracies: Greece, Spain, Portugal. Reflections on 50 Years of Change,” moderated by Elena Martínez Barahona from the University of Salamanca, attendees will include Maria Inácia Rezola, commissioner for the 50th anniversary celebrations of the April 25 Revolution in Portugal, Carmina Gustrán, commissioner for the 50th anniversary of democracy in Spain, and Syrago Tsiara, director of the National Gallery of Greece.
“Half a century ago, Portugal and Spain spearheaded a wave of democratization that paved the way for liberty in the ensuing years, helping to dismantle numerous dictatorships that still existed in Latin America and central and eastern Europe. We wish to take advantage of this date to evoke and discuss this process,” stated Maria Inácia Rezola, as quoted in a statement from the 50th Anniversary of the April 25 Revolution Commemoration Commission, released today.
Also present in Salamanca for the inauguration of the exhibition will be the Secretaries of State for Culture from both countries, Alberto Santos of Portugal and Jordi Marti Grau of Spain.
The exhibition, curated by historian Manuel Loff, was previously on display at Lisbon’s Torre do Tombo last year and now comes to Spain, with certain adaptations for the Salamanca venue. This initiative is part of the joint programming agreed upon by Portugal and Spain in 2024 to celebrate the role of culture in the transitions to democracy in both nations.
The exhibition was developed by the 50th Anniversary of the April 25 Revolution Commemoration Commission in collaboration with Portugal’s National Archives Torre do Tombo, the Directorate-General for Books, Archives, and Libraries, the Portuguese Center of Photography, the Diplomatic Institute of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and RTP. On the Spanish side, contributions came from the State Archives, the General Subdirectorate for International and EU Relations, and the Ministry of Culture.
According to the 50th Anniversary of the April 25 Revolution Commemoration Commission, the exhibition “addresses the processes of the Iberian transition to democracy through iconographic and documentary sources.”
In addition to the cross-programming agreed between the Portuguese and Spanish governments, the “Iberian transitions” also have a dedicated dossier on this topic on the website of the 50th Anniversary of the April 25 Revolution Commemoration Commission (50anos25abril.pt/historia/portugal-espanha-50-anos-de-democracia/).
