The Background of Che Guevara’s Iconic Photo
Ernesto “Che” Guevara (1928 – 1967) rose to prominence in the Cuban Revolution, and became famous as an innovative guerrilla, author, and diplomat. His image became a romantic icon of anti-imperialism, and his death fighting in Bolivia made him a martyr to leftists worldwide. Born in Argentina, Che was an asthmatic who nonetheless excelled in athletics. He studied medicine, and as a youth in the early 1950s, motorcycled through South America. In his travels, he encountered conditions of dire poverty, inequality, and injustice, that radicalized and set him on the path to Marxism. By 1955, Che had relocated to Mexico. There, he met and befriended Fidel Castro, who was planning to overthrow the Cuban regime. Che accompanied him and a small force to Cuba in 1956 to launch a revolution. He became one of Castro’s main advisors and chief military commanders.
Che led his men to final victory in 1959. His iconic photo was taken on March 5th, 1960, by photographer Alberto Korda, as he covered a funeral for victims of a freighter that had exploded in Havana’s harbor. Korda focused on Castro, and only shot two frames of Che as an afterthought. His newspaper published only Castro’s shots, and Che’s were returned to Korda. It remained obscure for seven years, until a rich Italian got a hold of it and helped make it famous. When Guevara was killed soon thereafter by the Bolivian army with CIA help, the Cuban regime embraced him as a martyr and revolutionary symbol. Korda’s photo was the perfect revolutionary romantic image. It rocketed to global fame as Guerrillero Heroico (“Heroic Guerrilla Fighter”), and became a shorthand symbol for rebellion and one of the most recognizable images of all time.
