Alberto Díaz Gutiérrez

He is famous for the celebrated photograph taken of Ernesto Ché Guevara during the funeral procession of the victims of the explosion of the ship Le Couvre, on March 5, 1960, which according to great critics is one of the ten best photographic portraits of all time and constitutes the most reproduced photograph in the history of photography throughout the world.

In the 1940s he took commercial classes at Candler College and at Havana Business Academy, both located in Havana. He founded KORDA Studios in Vedado with Luis Peirce in 1956, where he worked until 1968.

His training as a photographer was self-taught but he initially learned photography from Newton Estapé and later from Luis Pierce.

Since 1959 he worked as a photographer for the newspaper Revolución and as personal photographer of Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, until 1969.

He was a founding member of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC), underwater photographer and from 1980 he dedicated himself to fashion photography and worked as photography director of the magazine Opina.

He served as a juror in numerous salons and competitions. Among the numerous awards he received during his career are the Order for National Culture in 1982 and the Order Félix Varela of First Degree in 1994, both awarded by the State Council of the Republic of Cuba.

Work

Published Books:
Official book of the Pope's visit to Cuba, published in Italy.
Korda at seventy years, 1998.
Alberto Korda, 1999, published in Norway.
Momenti della storia, 1988, published in Italy.
Fidel, Barbudos (with Corrales and Salas), 1996.
Cuba the photography of the 60s, (1988).
Canto a la Realidad, Latin American photography (1860-1993), Lunwerg publishing house, Spain, 1993.
Cuba: 100 years of photography, Mestizo publishing house, Spain, 1998.

Individual and Group Exhibitions (Selection)
1961 Notes and photographs of May First, Municipal Gallery, Havana, Cuba.
1962 Exhibition for the World Festival of Youth and Students, Helsinki, Finland. 10 Years of Revolution, National Museum, Havana, Cuba.
1971 I National Photography Salon "July 26", UPEC, Havana, Cuba.
1975 V National Photography Salon "July 26", UPEC, Santa Clara, Cuba.
1978 "Made in Latin America". First exhibition of Contemporary Latin American Photography. First Latin American Photography Colloquium, Museum of Modern Art, Mexico City, Mexico.
1979 "History of Cuban photography", "Carrillo Gil" Art Museum, Mexico City, Mexico. "Made in Latin America", Photography Venice '79, Venice, Italy.
1980 "Two revolutionary moments", Mexican Council of Photography, Mexico City, Mexico. Salon of Plastic Arts UNEAC'80, International Art Center, Havana, Cuba.
1982 Corales, Cuban Photography Prize, Havana, Cuba.
1983 Thirteen photos for history, Museum of the March of the Fighting People, Havana, Cuba.
1985 Alberto KORDA, Gallery H, Diaphragm-Canon, Milan, Italy.
1986 Moments for history, "Servando Cabrera Moreno" Gallery, Havana, Cuba.
1988 30 years of the Victory of the Cuban Revolution. Alberto Díaz Gutiérrez "KORDA", Treviso, Italy. Alberto KORDA. Moments of history, Sicily, Italy. Mayito and KORDA exhibit, Cultural Center of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
1989 Raúl Corrales / José A. Figueroa/ Mario García Joya (Mayito) / Alberto Korda, Paris, France. Alberto Korda, State Library of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
1990 Che Guevara, a man of the 21st century. Photographs by Alberto Korda, Jour Agnes B Gallery, Paris, France. Che Guevara: Man or Myth, Oslo, Norway. Photographers of Cuba. Alberto Korda, Raúl Corrales, Abelardo Rodríguez, Vicente Gabriel Gahona Gallery, Mérida, Mexico.
1991 Moments of history, Open Space Gallery, Revolución y Cultura magazine, Havana, Cuba. Alberto Díaz (Korda), People Express, Barcelona, Spain. Che Guevara (Alberto Korda, Humberto Castro, Arcay), Nesle Gallery, Paris, France. Once upon a time... a revolution. Alberto Díaz "Korda", 4th Photography Biennial, Córdoba, Spain.
1992 Alberto Díaz "Korda" and Osvaldo Salas, Railowsky Gallery, Valencia, Spain. Alberto Díaz "Korda" Nueva Imagen Photogallery, Pamplona, Spain.
1994 Fragmented Realities (Paz Errázuriz/ Edgar Moreno/ Korda) Photographic Essay Prize, Gallery L, Havana, Cuba.
1996 Che Guevara: Moments of his life in Cuba, La Guarida Restaurant, Havana, Cuba.
1997 Photos of Che. Korda, Recoleta Cultural Center, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
1998 The "Che" by Alberto Korda, Parpalló Hall, Valencia, Spain. Cuba: 100 years of photography, House of America, Madrid, Spain. Alberto Korda. Retrospective Exhibition, Photography Archive of Cuba, Havana, Cuba. Alberto Korda, Couturier Gallery, Los Angeles, United States. Alberto Korda: diary of a revolution, Photographic Centre Gallery, Seattle, United States.
1999 Alberto Korda, Alianza Francesa, Mexico City, Mexico. Alberto Korda. Fotoutstilling, Oslo, Norway.
2000 Cuba Sí! 50 years of Cuban photography, Royal National Theatre, London, Great Britain.
2000, Roy Boyd Gallery, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
2002, Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA.

Awards and Distinctions
The Distinction for Cuban Culture (1982, Cuba).
Third prize in the 5th International Underwater Photography Prize "Mauricio Sana" (1979, Italy).
The Order Félix Varela of First degree (1994, Cuba).
The OLORUM CUBANO Award, corresponding to 1998, from the Cuban Fund of Photographic Image.
First Prize Historic Photo of Revolución y Cultura magazine; X National Photography Salon July 26 (1980, Cuba).
Among the prizes obtained are in 1959, Silver Palm Prize.
Best Photo-reporter of the Year.
Revolución Newspaper, Havana; 1960_1963; 1979 Third Prize.
5th International Prize for Underwater Photography "Maurizio Sana", Italy.

His work is found in collections in Cuba, Italy, France, United States and Mexico.