Martín Chambi's 129th Birthday

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Today’s Doodle celebrates Peruvian photographer Martín Chambi, widely credited as one of Latin America’s first Indigenous photographers and one of the greatest Peruvian photographers of the 20th century. Considered a pioneer of portrait photography, Chambi showcased the intangible essence of Peru’s Andean people, the dramatic landscape they inhabit, and their inimitable culture and heritage. Martín Jerónimo Chambi Jiménez was born into an Indigenous Quechua family on this day in 1891 in the town of Coaza in the southern Peruvian Andes. He fell in love with photography as a teenager and soon moved to the city of Arequipa to pursue the craft. In 1917, he photographed the newly-discovered citadel of Machu Picchu, and his panoramas helped to ignite the site’s worldwide reputation. In 1920, Chambi relocated with his family to Cusco (the ancient capital of the Inca empire) and there established a studio where he worked for more than 40 years. From images of cultural festivals in the surrounding mountains to impeccable portraits of Cusco residents from all walks of life, Chambi’s iconic black-and-white photos provided a stunning window into the unique universe of the Peruvian highlands. A true innovator, Chambi is also credited as the first person to publish a photographic postcard in Peru. Chambi’s photography experienced a surge in international exposure in the late ‘70s, leading to a posthumous solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1979. Happy birthday, Martín Chambi!