Che Guevara's Face: How a Cuban Photographer's Image Became a Cultural Icon
campaign against Castro’s government in the early 1960s but no proof of U S involvement in the La Coubre explosion has surfaced The cause of the blast remains a mystery Castro’s two-hour speech lasted until dark Korda rushed to his studio to develop his film hoping to deliver photographs to nearby newspaper offices that night As the film was developed a bearded Castro appeared many times The French philosophers appeared Sartre watching through thick glasses and de Beauvoir in a white head scarf Guevara standing alone appeared in just two photos his jacket zipped high and a beret over his long hair Carlos Franqui Revolución’s editor chose Korda’s photographs of Castro and the French philosophers for the next day’s edition of the paper But Korda pinned a print of Guevara to his studio wall where it remained for years yellowing with age and tobacco smoke
Guevara second from left who was a physician rushed to the scene of the La Coubre disaster in Havana
THE MAN BEHIND THE NEWSPAPER Alberto Korda’s contact sheet from March 5 1960 includes his iconic portrait of Che Guevara Revolución editor Carlos Franqui did not choose Alberto Korda’s photograph of Che Guevara for the March 6 1960 edition of the paper Franqui later explained It was the day after the La Coubre explosion Obviously Castro was the story not Che But Franqui helped make such photos possible Franqui the first editor of the newspaper said he wanted the pages to reflect the spirit of the revolution in a different way than the olive green of Fidel and the rebel army Through Franqui’s connections with artists in Paris new ideas about art traveled to Cuba Cuba’s citizens even those who could not read enjoyed the paper’s bold design and large photographs Its photographers and designers also worked to portray Cuba as friendly and attractive to other countries seeking alliances and trade partners
But as Castro’s government moved toward communism and stricter control of the newspaper it became less tolerant of new ideas Franqui quit in 1963 and left Cuba to live and work in Italy In 1965 the Cuban government shut down three newspapers including Revolución and created its own government-run newspaper Who could have imagined that one day the photograph which Korda called Guerrillero Heroico Heroic Guerrilla would set out on a journey around the globe Who would have expected it to become what has been called the most famous photograph in the world and a symbol of the 20th century
