LA ÉPOCA: Reportajes de una historia vetada (The Epoch: Dispatches from a Forbidden War) is a book designed to look like a newspaper published sixty-five years after the fact, which reports on the War of Villarrica (1954-1957), its context, its background and its consequences. Back in the day, a regime of relentless censorship blocked the news of the war, leaving the public blind to this day about the tragic events that took place in the region of Sumapaz, Colombia.

The War of Villarrica was the clear precursor of the Colombian Armed Conflict. However, until now, its historical importance has not been understood.

Led by Stephen Ferry, the OjoRojo Fábrica Visual team which carried out this investigation was made up of reporters, photojournalists and historians. We believe deeply in the freedom of the press as a fundamental condition for a country at peace. That’s why we decided to use the format of a newspaper for the design of this work, as a symbolic way to repair the censorship which hid this history from the public.

This work was developed in collaboration with the Colombian Truth Commission, created within the framework of the Havana peace accord signed by the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-EP) insurgency in 2016.

This project was supported by the Open Society Foundations, the Magnum Foundation and the Mendel Center for the Humanities at Brandeis University.