Alberto Korda: The Photographer Behind the World's Most Iconic Image

On March 5, 1960, at a massive funeral in Havana, a 31-year-old photographer raised his camera and captured an image that would change the visual history of the 20th century. That man was Alberto Korda, and that photograph would become Guerrillero Heroico, the most reproduced portrait of all time.

From Fashion Photographer to Revolution’s Chronicler

Alberto Díaz Gutiérrez was born in Havana in 1928, son of a railway worker. Before the Revolution, Korda was known as Cuba’s most prestigious fashion photographer. In 1956 he founded Korda Studios with Luis Peirce, adopting his stage name inspired by Hungarian directors Alexander and Zoltan Korda.

“My main aim was to meet women,” he once confessed about his years in fashion photography.

But the triumph of the Revolution in 1959 completely transformed his life. At nearly 30 years old, Korda abandoned the fashion world to document the changes shaking Cuba.

The Moment That Captured History

The photograph that would immortalize Che Guevara was taken during the funeral for victims of the La Coubre ship explosion in Havana’s harbor. Korda was photographing Fidel Castro when, for an instant, Che appeared in his viewfinder.

“There’s something about his eyes in the photo. A kind of mystery. His personality comes through,” Korda later explained about those two shots from his Leica camera.

The image remained in Korda’s archives for seven years, practically forgotten. It wasn’t until Che’s death in Bolivia in 1967 that Italian publisher Giangiacomo Feltrinelli visited Korda seeking images of the revolutionary.

Korda gave him two copies of the photograph as a gift. Feltrinelli reproduced it as a poster that sold one million copies in six months. The rest is history.

The Image That Never Paid Him

Contrary to what many believe, Korda never received royalties for the most reproduced photograph in the world. Cuba did not recognize the Berne Convention on copyright, and Korda never sought to profit economically from the image.

His only lawsuit came in 2000, when Smirnoff vodka used Che’s image for an advertising campaign. Korda won $50,000 which he immediately donated to Cuba’s healthcare system.

“If Che were still alive, he would have done the same,” Korda declared.

Beyond Guerrillero Heroico

Though remembered primarily for that image, Korda’s legacy includes some of the most emblematic photographs of the Cuban Revolution:

• The Girl with the Wooden Doll (1958): A girl holding a stick as if it were a doll, an image that convinced him to dedicate his work to the revolution
• Fidel’s Entry into Havana (1959): The triumphant moment of the guerrillas
• The Quixote of the Lamp Post (1959): A man in a straw hat atop a lamp post during a massive rally
• Militia Woman (1962): Portrait of a Cuban militia woman

For ten years he served as Fidel Castro’s personal photographer, accompanying him on trips to Washington, Moscow, and the Sierra Maestra. Among his lesser-known images are Castro playing golf with Che, fishing together, and staring at a tiger in New York’s zoo.

The Artist Behind the Camera

Korda was known for rejecting artificial lighting, which he called “a travesty of reality.” He worked only with natural light, always seeking perfect composition and ideal framing.

This philosophy made him a master of black-and-white photography, capable of finding poetry in the most everyday moments of the revolution.

Between 1968 and 1978 he dedicated himself to underwater photography, another of his passions. A 1978 exhibition in Japan sparked international interest in his work beyond the iconic Che image.

He appeared briefly in Wim Wenders’ documentary Buena Vista Social Club in 1999, though uncredited.

Eternal Legacy

Alberto Korda died of a heart attack in Paris on May 25, 2001, while presenting an exhibition of his work. He was 72 years old. His remains rest in Colón Cemetery in Havana.

In 2016, the Leica camera he used to capture the Che photo was auctioned for €18,100.

The documentary Kordavision (2006), directed by Héctor Cruz Sandoval, explores his life and was selected by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for its documentary series.

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Korda’s photography transcends the image of Che. It’s the testimony of an artist who abandoned glamour to document a revolution, expecting nothing in return. His legacy lives on in every reproduction of that gaze he captured in a fraction of a second more than 65 years ago.

Explore more Cuban art: Discover the work of Wifredo Lam at MoMA and the poetry of Nicolás Guillén.