Lopez 8HAA 247March 10, 2014Alberto Korda and the history of Guerrillero HeroicoSince 1827, cameras have allowed photographers to capture frozen moments of life while at war and peace. Some of these moments have gone largely unnoticed while others tell the story of a revolution that traveled across the Caribbean for 15 years. One such photo, Guerrillero Heroico, is known by the Maryland Institute of Art as the most famous photograph in the world.[footnoteRef:2] The photo, taken by Alberto Korda, features Che Guevara staring off in his iconic black beret and has been seen by much of the world. However, little is said of the photographer that snapped the instantly recognizable photo. While many photographers escaped the Cuban Revolution with historical photos, only Alberto Korda and his image Guerrillero Heroico has achieved such a level of notoriety. [2: BBC News. Che Guevara photographer dies.. news.bbc.co.uk. ]

Guerrillero Heroico was taken nearly on accident and without much thought or planning. Shot during a memorial ceremony, Guerrillero Heroico is a portrait of famed revolutionary Che Guevara. Hidden from view, facing Guevara, is a crowd of over a thousand people patiently waiting to hear Ches remarks on a spectacular disaster that claimed the lives of over a hundred people near the shores of Havana. The photo paints the face of a young, strong, and determined leader hell-bent on making things right in his revolution-torn country. His tight facial expression and focused eyes address the crowd visually as if to provide comfort and a sense of security in the same way a father would protect his children. Hes wearing his black beret adorned with a star, a symbol of the Comandante at the time. The image was taken during the day under natural light which provided the perfect background to embolden the contrasting Guevara portrait.Alberto Korda was born Alberto Diaz Gutierrez in Havana, Cuba on September 14th, 1928. At around age 15, Korda began using a camera to take shots of his girlfriend and learned to train his eye bye collecting pictures and photographs he liked in magazines.[footnoteRef:3] Alberto attended business school in Havana from 1946-1950. He then held various small time jobs but was always sure to take along his camera.[footnoteRef:4] He began his career in photography by shooting weddings, banquets and baptisms. To earn money, hed run to his studio to develop the film and return to the functions to sell the photos to people who wanted them as a keepsake.[footnoteRef:5] After many years, Korda and a friend opened up their first studio aptly named, Korda. It was at this time Korda found his true calling in shooting fashion and within two years he was the best known photographer on the island, [footnoteRef:6] but political events would soon shift his focus elsewhere. [3: The Telegraph. Alberto Korda.. telegraph.co.uk] [4: The Telegraph. Alberto Korda.. telegraph.co.uk] [5: Jaime Sarusky, Cuba by Korda, (Ocean Press, 2006), 1.] [6: The Telegraph. Alberto Korda.. telegraph.co.uk]

During the Cuban Revolution, a young lawyer and activist, Fidel Castro, petitioned the courts to legally have the Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista thrown out of office for corruption and tyranny. Despite the strong legal backing of his case, the courts rejected his claim and Castro resorted to launching an armed revolution.[footnoteRef:7] Castro, with the aide of his brother Raul, launched a paramilitary organization known as the Movement. They began gathering much needed munitions and recruited over 1,000 followers. In the years that followed, the group launched numerous small and large scale attacks against military installations and would even see their own leader, Castro, detained and jailed. Finally, in late 1958, Castros men took victories over many towns resulting in Batista fleeing the country in January of 1959 and Castro taking over. In the same year as Batistas ousting, Alberto Korda and, his friend and mentor, Raul Corrales became the primary documentarians of the Cuban Revolution. By 1961, Korda had become Castros personal photographer, following him and fellow activist Che Guevara into the jungle, to speaking engagements, on to overseas trips and around his hometown. It was during this time Alberto Korda took the most recognized photograph in the world.[footnoteRef:8] [7: Christoper, Minster. About.com, "Biography of Fidel Castro.] [8: The Telegraph. Alberto Korda.. telegraph.co.uk]

On March 5, 1960, a memorial service was held for 136 men killed after a belgian ship carrying munitions blew up in Havana Harbor.[footnoteRef:9] Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and photographer Alberto Korda were in attendance at the event and were expected to speak. As explained by his daughter, Diana Korda, Korda had been busy taking photos as usual that day. After a brief pause, Korda scanned the stage and briefly found Guevara appearing behind Castro. Korda snapped one picture, readjusted and quickly snapped another. It was in this split second that Alberto Korda captured an image of Guevara as a noble, stone faced, leader-Guerrillero Heroico.[footnoteRef:10],[footnoteRef:11] [9: The Telegraph. Alberto Korda.. telegraph.co.uk] [10: Chevolution. Youtube Video.] [11: The Telegraph. Alberto Korda.. telegraph.co.uk]

After an attempt to have the image published by the newspaper he was working for, Revolucion, was rejected, he hung a copy of the print on his bathroom wall, unseen for seven years. It wasnt until an italian man representing himself as an admirer of the Cuban Revolution requested an image of Guevara. Korda gave the man a negative of the print and would not accept payment from the man as he was a fellow sympathizer. Unknown to Korda at the time, the man who came to see him was Giangiacomo Fetrinelli, a well known publisher looking for a striking cover photo for a possible biography he was thinking about commissioning. Months later, Guevara was dead and Fetrinelli saw it as an opportunity to make money. In early 1968 Fetrinelli published Guevaras book, Bolivian Diaries, and promoted it with posters created from Kordas negative.[footnoteRef:12] It had sold over a million copies in six months.[footnoteRef:13] Thus began the transformation of a revolutionist into a popular culture icon. [12: Cambre, Maria-Carolina. Stealing or Steeling the Image? The failed branding of the Guerrillero Heroico image of Che Geuvera] [13: The Telegraph. Alberto Korda.. telegraph.co.uk]

Guerillero Heroico was seen as a universal emblem of youthful protest and discontent, and a fixture in student accommodation the world over.[footnoteRef:14] In the ensuing years, the world will see the photo attached to publications, clothing and advertisements. Millions of dollars were made from the photograph but Alberto Korda didn't see any of it. Fidel Castros decision to not sign the Berne Convention, which places worldwide regulations on copyrights and intellectual property, prevented Koda from claiming the work as his own.[footnoteRef:15] Despite the capitalization and commercialization of Guerrillero Heroico, Alberto Korda never took issue with its use until Smirnoff decided to use it for advertising purposes. Dermis Perez, author and art reviewer, nicely sums up the reason behind the resulting effect of Castros failure to sign the Berne Convention and what it meant to Korda: [14: The Telegraph. Alberto Korda.. telegraph.co.uk] [15: The Telegraph. Alberto Korda.. telegraph.co.uk]

In 1968, Cuba's Council of the State took charge of all of Korda's negatives, not only those of his travels with Fidel or his records of rallies and revolutionary activities, but also the originals of his fashion sessions. The frustration of losing control of many years of work drove him to focus, at the age of 50, on undersea photography.In 1999, Smirnoff wanted to place an iteration of Guerrillero Heroico in their ads to sell vodka. Korda took issue with it and sued them. Smirnoff and Korda settled out of court for an undisclosed sum of money that he promptly donated to a nearby hospital. Depsite the fame and potential financial gain from the distribution and commercialization of the image, Korda refused to have the image used in way that went against Ches ideology. In Stealing or Steeling the image? The failed branding of the Guerrillero Heroico image of Che Geuvera, Maria Cambre writes Korda claimed using Ches image for selling vodka was a slur on his [Guevaras] name emphasizing that Che never drank himself, was not a drunk, and [that] drink should not be associated with his immortal memory.[footnoteRef:16] [16: Cambre, Maria-Carolina. Stealing or Steeling the Image? The failed branding of the Guerrillero Heroico image of Che Geuvera]

The commercialization of Guerrillero Heroico has much to do with artists experimenting with ways to make poster art more appealing. One artist, Don Honeyman, was experimenting with a process known as a solarisation and was approached by the poster company Fretrinelli hired to create his promotional posters to create the art for them. Immediately, Honeyman had problems replicating the look in Ches eyes as it was originally printed in Europe. He compared the image from the poster company to one printed in Europe and discovered that the European designer had slimmed Ches face by stretching and elongated it. Honeyman did the same with his and it worked like a charm. The image we are so familiar with today, isnt even a true depiction of what Che looked like.[footnoteRef:17] [17: Hilton, Isabel. "Che Still a messiah?."]

Its important to note that Alberto Korda wasnt a one-hit-wonder. His photographs have made their way across the world from gallery to gallery in art exhibitions. In 2009, Dermis Perez wrote about one such exhibition by curator Christina Vives. She created a narrative of the show based on five chapters: Korda Studio, The leaders, The People, Woman, and The Sea.[footnoteRef:18] She wanted visitors to see The goal of this tribute to the creator of Che's best-known image was to reaffirm his Indisputable mastery and his place of pride in International photography, beyond the fortunate individual with a single snapshot.[footnoteRef:19] Dermis describes the artistic ability of Kordas images as that of a master artist. His ability to perfectly capture his subjects in natural light was far more superior than anyone of that time. He calls Korda an undisputed master of documentary images and places emphasis on his work that far surpasses the original image of Che. And while his skill is given high praise, Korda humbly admits that the iconic photo of Che didnt result from years of experience perfecting his technique in fashion photography, rather it was created out of pure luck.[footnoteRef:20] [18: Prez, Dermis. "Alberto Korda." ] [19: Prez, Dermis. "Alberto Korda." ] [20: "The Photographer behind the Face of Ernesto Che Guevara." Art History Archive.]

For these reasons, it must be accepted that Alberto Korda is the best photographer to leave the Cuban Revolution with a collection of images that are not only artistically beautiful, but known the world over. His photo of Che Guevara is considered to be the most famous photograph in the world with artists and designers scrambling to incorporate his work into their current and future projects. His image Guerrillero Heroico has been commercialized to such an extent that Smirnoff wanted to use it in advertising campaigns for their brand of Vodka. Finally, no other photograph, in recent times, has ever swayed entire generations to standup for what they believe in and fight the good fight. Kordas technique and style far exceeded the norm set forth by earlier pioneers of photography and has shown us that when we see the worst of times, theres an opportunity to photograph the best of times.

APPENDIXGuerrillero Heroico (Original)March 5, 1960Havana, Cuba

Guerrillero Heroico (Cropped)

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