This is the introduction by Colombian writer and playwright Sandro Romero Rey to Fotofijaciones [Photo Fixations], the exhibition of work by Eduardo Carvajal at Cali’s Sociedad de Mejoras Públicas [Society for Public Improvements] that was part of the IV Festival Internacional de Arte de Cali [IV International Cali Art Festival] (1989). The article highlights Carvajal’s work as a still photographer for movies produced by the Grupo de Cali [Cali Group] which led to the second great revival of regional cinema production in the 1970s and 1980s that according to Romero Rey, had already run its course by the time of the exhibition in question. Romero Rey notes that the photographs and the cameras at Carvajal’s country home reflect his two passions: photography and the movies, both of which were used to present a critical, devastating view of the city of Cali, and the process of urban transformation that has inexorably erased “nostalgia in one fell swoop.” The exhibition Fotofijaciones depicts the period of cinematographic splendor that was so important to the history of the movies in the Valle del Cauca [Cauca Valley].

Fotofijaciones is the first solo exhibition of photographs by Eduardo Carvajal (b. 1949), who worked for over a decade in the movie industry in Cali, Colombia. This article, Fe de ratas (A propósito de Fotofijaciones) [Faith of Rats (a pun on the term “errata”) Concerning Fotofijaciones], by the writer and playwright Sandro Romero Rey (b. 1959) is thus one of the very few written accounts of Carvajal’s photography. Carvajal was a member of the Cali Group, a loose affiliation of people who epitomized the peak of audiovisual activity in the 1970s and 1980s. In the 1970s the group was dominated by young movie fans, most notably the writer Andrés Caicedo (1951–1977). In the early 1980s it consisted mainly of people working in the movies, such as the well-known Colombian filmmakers Carlos Mayolo (1945–2007) and Luis Ospina (b. 1949). During this period—which was affectionately referred to as “Caliwood” (a play on “Hollywood”)—the group included directors, actors, photographers, assistant directors, art directors, cameramen, and movie critics.    The exhibition Fotofijaciones, in fact, included still shots from a number of the movies directed by members of the Group: Cali de película [Fantastic Cali] (1973) directed by Mayolo and Ospina; Angelita y Miguel Ángel (1973) directed by Caicedo and Mayolo; Pura sangre [Thoroughbred] (1982) directed by Ospina; and Carne de tu carne [Flesh of Your Flesh] (1983) directed by Mayolo, among others. According to Romero Rey, this photographic archive is an integral part of the visual history of Cali; it was shown to the public for the first time during the Festival Internacional de Arte [International Art Festival], the 1968 cultural event that revived the legendary Festival de Arte de Cali [Cali Art Festival] from the 1960s. The most important and best-known series of photographs are the ones taken by Carvajal of Caicedo (the writer, movie fan, and cinema club aficionado) whose literary work and suicide at an early age transformed him into a myth in the eyes of several generations. The playwright and movie critic Sandro Romero Rey, a member of the “Caliwood” set, worked with Carvajal on audiovisual projects during the 1980s in Cali. In 1989, Ospina made the documentary Fotofijaciones based on this exhibition.