Alberto Korda
His single, perfectly-timed photograph of Che Guevara became the 20th century's most reproduced image of rebellion.
1928–2001 (age 73)·Cuban photographer·Birthday: September 14·The Silent Generation
Biography
Alberto Díaz Gutiérrez, who adopted the professional name Korda, was a Cuban photographer whose life was defined by the revolution he documented. Initially a successful fashion photographer in Havana, his work captured the city's glamorous pulse. After Fidel Castro's rise, Korda became a true believer, using his camera as a revolutionary tool. He served as Castro's personal photographer for a decade, creating an intimate visual diary of the bearded leader and his inner circle. While he took thousands of images, his legacy was cemented in a fraction of a second on March 5, 1960, at a memorial service. His portrait of Che Guevara, titled 'Guerrillero Heroico,' with its determined gaze and beret-star emblem, transcended its origin. Korda never sought royalties for the image, viewing its global spread as a victory for the revolutionary ideal, even as it became a commercialized symbol he could no longer control.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Alberto was born in 1928, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Alberto Was Born
The biggest hits of 1928
#1 Movie
The Singing Fool
Best Picture
Wings
Alberto's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1928Born
Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin; Mickey Mouse debuts
President: Calvin Coolidge"Ol' Man River" — Paul WhitemanBest Picture: Wings
1933Started school
FDR's New Deal launches; Prohibition ends
Gas: $0.18/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Stormy Weather" — Ethel WatersBest Picture: Cavalcade
1941Became a teenager
Pearl Harbor attack brings the US into WWII
Gas: $0.19/galHome: $3,060Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Chattanooga Choo Choo" — Glenn MillerBest Picture: How Green Was My Valley
1944Could drive
D-Day: Allied forces land at Normandy
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $3,400Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Swinging on a Star" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Going My Way
1946Could vote
United Nations holds its first General Assembly
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $5,150Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Prisoner of Love" — Perry ComoBest Picture: The Best Years of Our Lives
1949Turned 21
NATO founded; Mao proclaims the People's Republic of China
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Riders in the Sky" — Vaughn MonroeBest Picture: All the King's Men
1958Turned 30
NASA founded
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Volare" — Domenico ModugnoBest Picture: Gigi
1968Turned 40
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1978Turned 50
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1988Turned 60
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1998Turned 70
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
2001Died at 73
September 11 attacks transform the world
Gas: $1.46/galHome: $126,400Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Hanging by a Moment" — LifehouseBest Picture: A Beautiful Mind
Key Achievements
- Created 'Guerrillero Heroico,' the definitive photographic portrait of Che Guevara, in 1960.
- Served as Fidel Castro's official personal photographer from 1959 through much of the 1960s.
- His work provided a foundational visual record of the early years of the Cuban Revolution.
- Won the World Press Photo award in 1980 for a portrait of a Vietnamese girl.
Did You Know?
He was originally a fashion and advertising photographer before the revolution.
He did not copyright the Che image, famously declining to sue a vodka company for its use.
The original 'Guerrillero Heroico' negative was cropped to its iconic form by an Italian publisher.
His camera of choice for much of his revolutionary work was a Leica M2.
“It is the most reproduced image in the history of photography. A symbol of the 20th century.”
