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Alberto Korda

IMAGE GALLERY

BIO

Alberto Diaz Gutierrez, who took the name Korda because it sounded like Kodak, worked in Cuban advertising and fashion before becoming a photographer for the Cuban newspaper Revolucion. His concepts of artistic photography were applied to his photojournalism, as he documented the Revolution and its leaders. The most famous example, his portrait of Che Guevara entitled Guerrillero Heroico (1960), is one of the most emblematic images of the Cuban Revolution, and helped make Che a Cuban and international favorite. Korda never received any royalties for Guerillero Heroico, although in 2000 he sued Smirnoff over the use of the image in advertisement and won $50,000, which he donated to the Cuban healthcare system. El Juego de Golf (1960), depicts Castro and Che playing golf at the old Havana Country Club, a favorite course of Richard Nixon, after incredulously reading in the New York Times that President Eisenhower had spent an entire day playing golf and doing business. While golfing, Castro and Che decided that the land was being used by too few; and in the next few weeks, the world-class greens became the foundation for the University of Havana Art School.

After the Revolution, Korda became Fidel Castro’s personal photographer for 10 years, and continued to develop his repertoire of Castro as leader and diplomat. Considered one of Cuba’s most significant artists, Korda appeared in the pre-title sequence of Wim Wenders’ film Buena Vista Social Club in 1999. His work has been exhibited internationally, including New York City, Mexico City, and Paris, where he suffered a heart attack in 2001 while presenting an exhibition. He is buried in the Colon Cemetery, Havana.