Alberto Díaz Gutiérrez, better known by his artistic name, Alberto Korda (Havana, September 14, 1928 – Paris, May 25, 2001), was born and raised in Havana, where he studied business at Candler College and the Havana Business Academy.
In 1954 he is the founder and owner of Korda Studio (which in 1956 would be renamed Studios Korda) from where he carries out advertising work and becomes a pioneer of fashion photography in Cuba, granting him a true artistic category.
From 1959, he collaborated with the newspaper “Revolución”, and along with other lens artists he helped, as a graphic chronicler, to build the perceived image of the Cuban Revolution. He travels to different countries as a photographer accompanying the Cuban president and prime minister.
In 1968, after Studios Korda was nationalized, he founded the Department of Underwater Scientific Photography of the Institute of Oceanology of Cuba; There, among other scientific projects, he would work on the elaboration of an atlas of Cuban corals.
To this new facet, in addition to his many years of experience in the trade, he brings his aesthetic criteria based on creativity and the sense of art together with a concept of beauty and very personal framing that endowed his photos with a unique composition.
Due to the variety of subjects he pursued, Alberto Korda is considered the most versatile of the Cuban photographers of his generation. He is a cardinal figure in the history of Cuban art and is internationally recognized as one of the masters of Cuban photography of all time.
His most famous photograph is, without a doubt, the portrait of Che Guevara taken on March 5, 1960 and titled “Guerrillero Heroico”, which has become one of the most reproduced images in the history of photography.
| STUDIES | |
|---|---|
| 1946 – 1947 | Commercial Studies, Candler College, La Habana, Cuba. |
| 1947 – 1950 | Commercial Studies, Havana Business Academy, La Habana, Cuba. |
| PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY | |
|---|---|
| 1954 – 1968 | With Luis A. Peirce, he is founder and owner of the “Estudios Korda“. |
| 1959 – 1965 | Periódico Revolución, photographer, La Habana, Cuba. |
| 1959 – 1968 | Accompanying photographer of Fidel Castro Ruz, Prime Minister of the Revolutionary Government of Cuba. |
| 1961 | Founding Member of the Photography Section, Cuban Writers and Artists Union (UNEAC), La Habana, Cuba. |
| 1968 – 1979 | Chief Photographer of the Department of Underwater Photography of the Institute of Oceanology of the Academy of Sciences of Cuba, Havana, Cuba. |
| 1980 | Advertising and fashion photographer (freelance). Havana, Cuba. |
| 1980 – 1982 | Photography Director for the magazine Revista Opina, Havana, Cuba. |
| 1982 | Jury. Salón Paisaje’82, National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba. |
| 1994 | Jury. Premio Ensayo Fotográfico Casa de las Américas 1994, Havana, Cuba. |
| 1996 | Jury. First Salon-Human Body Photography Contest NUDI’96, Fototeca de Cuba, Havana, Cuba. |
| 1998 | Speaker. “Cubans on Cuban Art“. Panel Discussion, Museum of Contemporary Art. MOCA, Los Ángeles, CA, U.S.A. |
| AWARDS & DISTINCTIONS | |
|---|---|
| 1954 | First Prize for Advertising Photography from Banco Godoy-Zayán, Havana, Cuba. |
| 1959 | Silver Palm Award. Best Photojournalist of the Year. Revolution newspaper, Havana, Cuba. |
| 1960 1963 | First Prize (4). Havana Carnival Contests, Havana, Cuba. |
| 1965 | Third Prize in the V International Underwater Photography Contest “Mauricio Sarrá” Italy. |
| 1971 | Second prize. “26 de Julio” National Photography Salon. Cuban Journalists Union (UPEC), Havana, Cuba. |
| 1975 | Second prize. V “26 de Julio” National Photography Salon. Cuban Journalists Union (UPEC), Santa Clara, Las Villas, Cuba. |
| 1980 | First Prize, Historical Photo. Revolution and Culture Magazine. X National Photography Salon “26 de Julio“, Ciego de Ávila, Cuba. |
| 1982 | Distinction for National Culture. Council of State of the Cuban Republic. |
| 1993 | Replica of Maximo Gomez’s Machete. Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR), Cuban Republic. |
| 1994 | Felix Varela Order of the First Degree. State Council, Cuban Republic. |
| FILMOGRAPHY | |
|---|---|
| 1986 | Pedro Chaskel “Una foto recorre el mundo“, color documentary, ICAIC, Havana, Cuba. |
| 1991 | “Alberto Korda“, One World Channel (European International Television Channel). |
| 1991 | Lily Novo: “Korda, imagen y leyenda“, Havana, Cuba. |
| 1994 | Raisa White: “Alberto Korda“, Mirarte, Cuban Radio and Television Institute, Havana, Cuba. |
| 1995 | “Castro, Che und Schöne Fragüen“, color documentary, Germany. |
| 2001 | Jesus González: “Luz Natural“, color documentary, Havana, Cuba. |
| 2003 | Alejandro Strauss: “Korda, Fotógrafo en Revolución“, color documentary, México. |
| 2004 | Hector Cruz Sandoval: “KORDAVISION”, color feature film, Los Ángeles, California, USA. |
| 2009 | Roberto Chile: “Sencillamente Korda“, color documentary, Havana, Cuba. |