D. D. Gomes Casseres: Biographical approach to a transnational Colombian

Abstract

If one aims to conduct an iconological reading of a collection of postcards which circulated at the beginning of the twentieth century, it is indispensable to know who created these cultural artefacts. In order to identify the intentio- nality of the visual discourses contained within these images, it is indeed of vital importance to have thorough knowledge of their creator, who originally only left one biographical trace: the name “D.D. Gomes Casseres”. Using this simple reference, which appeared on the postcards, as a starting point, this article succeeded in providing a biographical interpretation of a Colombian ci- tizen who, originally from Sincelejo, moved to Costa Rica because of labor rela- tions with the United Fruit Company. This biographical approach will function as a springboard for a project which aims to read the postcard images related
to the so-called “Banana series”, a series which is connected to the Province of Limo?n, a province situated in the coastal region of Costa Rica, which will be briefly commented on in this article.