Photojournalist Daniel Rodriguez's Work at Cultural Center

This just in from the Carrollwood Cultural Center:

The Gallery at Carrollwood Cultural Center will present the first U.S. show of Colombian photojournalist Daniel Rodriguez’s work in an exhibit titled, “Colombia, Face of the Past” (Un Rostro del Pasado),  August 2 through August 31.

An opening reception for the exhibit will be held at the Carrollwood Cultural Center, located at 4537 Lowell Road in Tampa, on August 9 from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. The reception will include Colombian food, music and a lecture about Rodriguez. Admission is free.  

Rodriguez’s photographs arrived in Tampa six years ago, as black and white negatives in three old shoeboxes. They were mailed from Bogotá after Rodriguez died, a legacy to his son, Carlos Rodriguez of Tampa.

For years, the family has been working to restore these beautiful and historically significant photographs.  Daniel Rodriguez was trained in the tradition of the great early Paris photographers. His black and white photos are known for their power, beauty and simplicity.  The exhibit gives a rare look into a golden age of Colombian and Latin American culture.

Rodriguez worked for the Colombian daily newspaper "El Espectador" (the Spectator) from 1936-66. The oldest and largest newspaper in Colombia, "El Espectador" was a champion of the independent press. The newspaper sent Rodriguez all over Colombia and to many other countries in Latin America.  

Rodriguez had a journalist’s eye for storytelling. He photographed life in the cities and in the countryside, from the social elites to working classes and campesinos. Capturing a vanished and timeless way of life, these images are windows into our past.  Part of the collection has previously been shown in Germany and Colombia.  

The Gallery at Carrollwood Cultural center is open and free to the public most weekdays, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m., and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. until noon. For more information about the Gallery at Carrollwood Cultural Center, visit carrollwoodcenter.org or call (813) 269-1310.