Nzé Esono Ebalé is a self-taught artist known for intertwining drawing and activism in his work. His activism, particularly through the Blog Locos TV and the graphic novel La pesadilla de Obi, which exposes the abuses of dictator Teodoro Obiang, led to his imprisonment in Black Beach in 2017.

After five months in prison, he was released without charges due to international pressure. Ebalé’s profile is characterized by being a self-taught artist who has always intertwined art, illustration and activism in his work. Pere Ortín, a journalist and highly esteemed writer, spent over 20 years investigating the story of Manuel Hernández-Sanjuàn, a filmmaker who led an expedition to Equatorial Guinea in 1944 to document, under direct commission from dictator Francisco Franco, the Spanish Guinea. This research gave birth to Diez Mil Elefantes (Ten Thousand Elephants), a project that Nzé embarked on around 2010, when it was still a dream. The dream ultimately became a graphic novel that interweaves documentary passages with fictional images.

The story of “Diez Mil Elefantes” transports us to 1944 in Spanish Guinea. A team of photographers and filmmakers, led by Manuel Hernández-Sanjuán, embarked on an expedition to Guinea with the goal of capturing the colonial life of “Black Spain” in Africa. They spent two years accumulating a vast photographic and audio visual archive, which had since fallen into oblivion with the arrival of democracy.

Ngono Mbá, one of the porters involved in the expedition, now recounts their journey, destined to “document” the regime’s manufactured truths, thus shedding light on overlooked aspects of Spain’s colonial history. Ortín chose to narrate from a Guinean perspective, challenging colonial norms. This creative approach, with minimal text combined with various elements like letters, maps, and photographs, aims to challenge colonialist discourse and celebrate the beauty of Guinea and Africa. Diez Mil Elefantes interweaves poetry in its narrative and images, aspiring to be a tool of knowledge and hope for present and future generations. -Publisher