Santo Domingo on Foot to War

This bold mustard yellow magazine cover, complemented by strong typography, is simple but eye-catching to the passerby it aimed to attract. In a large black rectangle, “Extra” is the first thing you see when taking a quick glance at this news magazine from the Dominican Republic. With about six different typefaces in black to draw your attention, you can read the words “Santo Domingo en pie de guerra,” meaning “Santo Domingo is on foot to war.” Below that is the text saying, “Reseña gráfica de los últimos acontecimientos,” meaning “a graphical overview of the most recent events.”

The designer of this magazine cover is unknown, but it is known that this issue came from a magazine publisher named “¡Ahora!”, meaning “Now”. This publication still produces news magazines to this day, with this edition being an early piece of their history. 

The content of this issue of the magazine reflects the time of which the Dominican Republic was in a tense conflict with the United States. The US had invaded the island with military forces in hopes of striking down any signs of communism within the country’s government, attempting to place their own president and ousting the democratically elected president. This effectively incited a civil war, and as a result, this time period produced a large amount of propaganda posters against colonialism and American imperialism.