Guerrillero Heroico

... ...

Guerrillero Heroico (English: "Heroic Guerrilla Fighter")

is an iconic photograph of Marxist revolutionary Che

Guevara taken by Alberto Korda. It was captured on

March 5, 1960, in Havana , Cuba , at a memorial service

for victims of the La Coubre explosion. By the end of

the 1960s, the image, in conjunction with Guevara's

subsequent actions and eventual execution, helped

solidify the leader as a cultural icon. [2] Korda has said

that at the moment he shot the picture, he was drawn to

Guevara's facial expression, which showed "absolute

implacability" [3] as well as anger and pain.[4] Years

later, Korda would say that the photograph showed

Che's firm and stoic character. [5] Guevara was 31 years

old at the time the photograph was taken.

The original image, from which the popularized

portrait was derived. By cropping out a palm tree and

the profile of Jorge Masetti , and making other slight

adjustments, Korda gave Guevara's image "an ageless

quality, divorced from the specifics of time and

place." [1]

Emphasizing the image's ubiquitous nature and wide

appeal, the Maryland Institute College of Art called the

picture a symbol of the 20th century and the world's

most famous photograph. [6] Versions of it have been

painted, printed, digitized, embroidered, tattooed, silk-

screened, sculpted or sketched on nearly every surface

imaginable, leading the Victoria and Albert Museum to

say that the photograph has been reproduced more than

any other image in photography. [7] Jonathan Green,

director of the UCR/California Museum of

Photography , has speculated that

Korda's image has worked its way into

languages around the world. It has become

an alpha-numeric symbol, a hieroglyph, an

instant symbol. It mysteriously reappears

whenever there's a conflict. There isn’t

anything else in history that serves in this

way.[8]

The history and contemporary global impact of the

image is the basis for the 2008 documentary

Chevolution, directed by Trisha Ziff, [9] along with the

2009 book Che's Afterlife: The Legacy of an Image by

Michael Casey. [10]

Origins

Che Guevara (third from left) and Fidel

Castro (far left) marching to Colón Cemetery.

On March 4, 1960, the French freighter La Coubre

suspiciously exploded in Havana Harbor , killing up to

100 people and injuring several hundred more. [11] Upon

hearing the blast, Guevara rushed to the harbor to board

the burning ship, angrily forcing his way past those

concerned for his safety following a secondary

explosion. [11]

The following day on March 5, President Fidel Castro

blamed the U.S. CIA and called for a memorial service

and mass demonstration at Havana's Colón Cemetery, to

honor the victims. [11] At the time, Guevara was Minister

of Industry in the new government, and Korda was

Castro's official photographer. After a funeral march

along the seafront boulevard known as Malecón , Fidel

Castro gave a eulogy for the fallen at a stage on the

corner of 23rd and 12th streets.[12][13] Castro gave a

fiery speech, using the words "Patria o

Muerte" ("Homeland or Death") for the first time.[14]

Meanwhile, at 11:20 am, Guevara came into view for a

few seconds. Korda snapped just two frames of him

from a distance of about 25–30 ft (7.6–9.1 m) before he

disappeared from sight. [13] Korda immediately realised

his photograph had the attributes of a portrait. [15] Later,

Korda said of this photograph, "I remember it as if it

were today … seeing him framed in the viewfinder, with

that expression. I am still startled by the impact … it

shakes me so powerfully". [7]

Korda's film contact sheet. Guerrillero

Heroico appears on the fourth row down,

third picture over (shot horizontally).

The two photographs of Che from Korda's

film.

During the rally, Korda took pictures of Cuban

dignitaries and famous French existentialist philosophers

Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir , both

admirers of Guevara at the time. Included in the film

roll were shots of all the speakers and two pictures of

Che's brief appearance. The classic picture appears on

frame number 40 shot horizontally. [16]

The first photograph had Guevara framed alone

between the silhouette of Jorge Masetti and a palm tree;

the second with someone's head appearing above his

shoulder. The first picture, with the intruding material

cropped out and the image rotated slightly, became

Guevara's most famous portrait. The editor of

Revolución where Korda worked, decided to use only

his shots of Castro, Sartre, and de Beauvoir, while

sending the Che shot back to Korda. Believing the image

was powerful, Korda made a cropped version for

himself, which he enlarged and hung on his wall next to

a portrait of the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, [14] and

also gave copies to some others as a gift. It was not

until 1986 that José Figueroa, an established

photographer in his own right who printed for Korda

and was his unofficially "adopted" son, suggested they

try printing the full frame version of the portrait. Korda

continued to print both versions of the image up until his

death. [17]

Leica M2 , similar to the one the

photograph was taken on

To take the photograph, Korda used a Leica M2 with a

90 mm lens, loaded with Kodak Plus-X pan film. In

speaking about the method, Korda remarked that "this

photograph is not the product of knowledge or

technique. It was really coincidence, pure luck." [18]

Alberto Korda

As a lifelong communist and supporter of the Cuban

Revolution until his death, Alberto Korda claimed no

payment for his picture. A modified version of the

portrait through the decades was also reproduced on a

range of different media, though Korda never asked for

royalties . Korda reasoned that Che's image represented

his revolutionary ideals, and thus the more his picture

spread the greater the chance Che's ideals would spread

as well. Korda's refusal to seek royalties for the vast

circulation of his photograph "helped it become the

ultimate symbol of Marxist revolution and anti-

imperialist struggle." [19]

However, Korda did not want commercialization of the

image in relation to products he believed Guevara

would not support, especially alcohol. This belief was

displayed for the first time in 2000, when in response to

Smirnoff using Che's picture in a vodka commercial,

Korda claimed his moral rights (a form of copyright

law ) and sued advertising agency Lowe Lintas and Rex

Features, the company that supplied the photograph. [20]

Lintas and Rex claimed that the image was in the public

domain . The final result was an out of court settlement

for US$50,000 to Korda, [21] which he donated to the

Cuban healthcare system, stating "if Che was still alive,

he would have done the same." [22]

After the settlement, Korda reiterated that he was not

against its propagation altogether, telling reporters:

"As a supporter of the ideals for which

Che Guevara died, I am not averse to its

reproduction by those who wish to

propagate his memory and the cause of

social justice throughout the world, but I

am categorically against the exploitation

of Che's image for the promotion of

products such as alcohol, or for any

purpose that denigrates the reputation of

Che." [15]

Use in Cuba

Plaza de la Revolución – in Havana,

Cuba

Cuban historian Edmundo Desnoes has stated that "Che's

image may be cast aside, bought and sold and deified,

but it will form a part of the universal system of the

revolutionary struggle, and can recover its original

meaning at any moment." [23] That meaning's origin

harkens back to when Korda's photograph was first

published on April 16, 1961, in the daily Cuban

newspaper Revolución, advertising a noon conference

during which the main speaker was "Dr. Ernesto 'Che'

Guevara." The conference was disrupted however, when

1,300 CIA-supported counter-revolutionaries stormed the

beaches of Cuba, in what became known as the failed

Bay of Pigs invasion . The image was thus republished a

second time advertising the newly convened conference

on April 28, 1961. Because of this fact, it seems very

likely that in the context of both of these publications,

that Che could have seen the photograph that would

later contribute to his iconic status. [24]

The very first time Cubans on a large scale became

familiar with the photograph, despite its earlier

reproduction in Revolución, was on hearing the news of

Che's death. Upon the news of Che's execution, it was

enlarged and draped on a banner down the five-story

building of the Ministry of the Interior in the Plaza de

la Revolución in Havana . This building where Che

himself had formerly worked, served as a backdrop to

Fidel's eulogy on October 18, 1967, publicly

acknowledging the death of Che Guevara before a

crowd of over a million mourners. José Gómez

Fresquet, renowned Cuban poster maker and graphic

artist, recalls how on hearing the news of Guevara's

death, he immediately worked all night producing the

poster to be used at the rally honoring him the next day.

Korda had given Fresquet a copy of the portrait as a

basis for the poster, which he created on red paper.

This was the first privately produced Guerrillero

Heroico to be created in Cuba. Since then the building

has seen many versions of the image, and today a

permanent steel outline, derived from the photograph,

adorns the building. [25]

International dissemination

Giangiacomo Feltrinelli

Passed out to the occasional friend and published in a

few small Cuban publications, Che's image remained

relatively unknown for 7 years. A print was sold or

given to wealthy Italian publisher and intellectual

Giangiacomo Feltrinelli in 1967. Feltrinelli had just

returned from Bolivia where he had hoped his fame

would help in negotiating the release of French

journalist and professor Régis Debray . Debray had been

arrested in Bolivia in connection with guerrilla

operations led by Che Guevara. As Guevara's eventual

capture or death appeared to be imminent with the CIA

closing in on his whereabouts, Feltrinelli acquired the

rights to publish Che's captured Bolivian Diary. At this

time Feltrinelli asked Cuban officials where to obtain

Guevara images and was directed to Korda's studio

where he presented a letter of introduction from the

government. The document asked for Korda's assistance

in finding a good portrait of Che. Korda knew right

away that his favorite image of Che was perfect and

pointed to the 1960 shot of Che hanging on the wall,

saying that the photograph was the best of those he had

taken of Che. Feltrinelli agreed and ordered 2 prints.

When he returned the next day to pick them up Korda

told him that because he was a friend of the revolution

he did not have to pay.

Upon his return to Italy, Feltrinelli disseminated

thousands of copies of the poster to raise awareness of

Che's precarious situation and impending demise. Later

in 1967 after his October 9, 1967 execution, Che's

Bolivian Diary with Korda's photograph on the cover

was released worldwide. Feltrinelli also created posters

to promote the book, crediting the copyright to (c)

Libreria Feltrinelli 1967 (in the lower left hand corner

of the image) with no mention of Korda. [17] By this time,

Korda's image had officially entered the public

consciousness. Alberto Korda later expounded that if

Feltrinelli had paid him just one lira for each

reproduction, that he would have received millions.

However, Korda also expressed that he forgave him,

because through his actions, the image became

famous.[13]

Milan 1967

Feltrinelli's version of the image was used in October

1967 in Milan , Italy, when spontaneous protests occurred

in response to the news of Che's death. Italian

photographer Giorgio Mondolfo later stated that "the

first time I saw the picture by Alberto Korda, I was not

even slightly interested in the author. I was only fifteen,

and it was the picture that had drawn us – many for the

first time – to gather in the streets, crying Che

lives! " [26]

Paris Match

Guerrillero Heroico also appeared in the August 1967

issue of Paris Match . Published only a few months

before his eventual capture and execution, the issue

featured a major article titled "Les Guerrilleros" by

journalist Jean Lartéguy. Lartéguy wrote

At a time when Cuban revolutionaries want to

create Vietnams all over the world, the

Americans run the risk of finding their own

Algeria in Latin America. [25]

The article ended by asking "Where is Che Guevara?"

The caption of the photograph read "The official

photograph of Che Guevara; on his beret the star, the

symbol of the Comandante." [25] It is not known who

provided the magazine with the image, and it was also

not credited to Feltrinelli. However, with its wide

circulation throughout Europe, and its status as an

influential news journal, Paris Match could also be

viewed as one of the original purveyors of the image.

Paris 1968

During the May 1968 Paris student riots, which

eventually shook the de Gaulle government (but did not

overthrow it), organizer "Danny The Red" utilized

Fitzpatrick's rendition of Che during the protests. At this

time, Che's image was picked up by the Dutch anarchist

group "The Provos" in Amsterdam, who focused on

triggering violent responses from authorities through

non-violent means.
Jim Fitzpatrick

The original 1968 stylized

image created by Jim

Fitzpatrick.

In 1967, Irish artist Jim Fitzpatrick was also using

Korda's image as a basis for creating his own stylized

posters. Fitzpatrick claims he received a copy of the

photograph from the Dutch anarchist group "the

Provos ", who produced a magazine bearing the group's

name. Fitzpatrick remembers that Provo magazine

claimed the image originally came to Europe via Jean-

Paul Sartre . Fitzpatrick's source of the image, then,

would not have been Feltrinelli. [17]

"The first image I did of Che was

psychedelic, it looks like he is in

seaweed. His hair was not hair, it was

shapes that I felt gave it an extra

dimension. That was the image I

produced for the magazine and that was

done before he died and that is the

important thing about that image. At first

it did not print. It was considered far too

strong and revolutionary. I was very

inspired by Che's trip to Bolivia. He went

there with the intent to overthrow the

intensely corrupt government, helped by

the Americans at the time, and that's

where he died. I thought he was one of

the greatest men who ever lived and I

still do in many ways. And when he was

murdered, I decided I wanted to do

something about it, so I created the

poster. I felt this image had to come out,

or he would not be commemorated

otherwise, he would go where heroes go,

which is usually into anonymity."

— Jim Fitzpatrick, 2005[27]

To create the image Fitzpatrick made a paper negative

on a piece of equipment called a grant. They were then

printed in one color black and one color red, and he

handpainted the star in yellow. Fitzpatrick "wanted the

image to breed like rabbits" and hand printed thousands

of images to give away to anyone for free in London, in

addition to getting friends to pass them out while

encouraging others to make their own versions. He

printed about a hundred copies at a time to fulfill the

demand of political groups in Ireland, France, and the

Netherlands who began requesting the image. A batch

was also sent to Spain, where they were seized by

Franco 's police.

Because of the high demand, Fitzpatrick formed a

poster company called Two Bear Feet and produced a

variety of posters in 1967 using the Korda image. All of

them were created without copyright, because

Fitzpatrick wanted them to be reproduced. One of these

posters would be published in the satirical magazine

Private Eye. The best-known was printed on silver foil

and was exhibited in an exhibition in London called

"Viva Che" at the Arts Laboratory, curated by Peter

Meyer. This show was originally to be held at the

Lisson Gallery in 1968 and illustrates how fast the

image moved from protest into the realm of fine

art. [28]

Because of Fitzpatrick's desire for the photograph to

reflect something of himself, he raised Che's eyes more

and added his initial, an "F", on the shoulder. It was not

until the 40th anniversary of Che's death that

Fitzpatrick admitted to this fact stating "I’m a bit

mischievous, so I never told anyone." [29] At this time

Fitzpatrick said that "I love the picture and wherever I

am in the world, if I see it, I take a photo of it. I always

have a chuckle when I see that little 'F'. I know that it's

mine." [29] In November 2008, Fitzpatrick announced

that he would be signing over the copyright of his Che

image to the William Soler Pediatric Cardiology

Hospital in Havana, Cuba. In announcing his reason for

ensuring all future proceeds would go to the children's

hospital, Fitzpatrick stated that "Cuba trains doctors

and then sends them around the world … I want their

medical system to benefit." Additionally, Fitzpatrick

publicized his desire to gift the original artwork to the

archive run by Guevara's widow, Aleida March. [30]

Ireland

Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams is interviewed in the

2008 documentary Chevolution about the famous

photograph. As he speaks, the film shows a montage of

Che murals in Belfast , with Adams remarking "I

suppose people from my background were drawn to

that image, because of what Che Guevara

represented." [31]

The United States and further influence

Guerrillero Heroico made its American debut in 1968 on

New York City Subway billboards, when the image

appeared in painted form by Paul Davis , for a poster

advertising the February issue of Evergreen

Review . [32] Paul Davis has stated that he was "inspired

by Italian paintings of martyred saints and Christ", in

his romanticised version of Che. [32]

"Che is an impetuous man with burning eyes and

profound intelligence who seems born to make

revolution."

— Henri Cartier-Bresson , Life magazine , 1963 [33]

However, the fascination was not solely an American

phenomenon. For instance, British journalist Richard

Gott who met with Che Guevara several times expressed

a similar view, by stating how he was "struck by his

magnetic physical attraction, comparable to the aura of

a rock star." In Gott's opinion "almost everyone had the

same impression, and journalists were particularly

susceptible." [34] Time magazine, in an August 8, 1960,

cover story after meeting with Guevara displayed this

view, by remarking that Che wore "a smile of

melancholy sweetness that many women find

devastating." [35]

Argentine journalist Julia Costenlos, recalls that in her

view he was "blessed with a unique appeal, an

incalculable enchantment that came completely

naturally." [36] Even under duress, The Times journalist

Henry Brandon, who spoke with Guevara at the height

of the Cuban Missile Crisis , remarked that Che

possessed a "genial charm" that "might have made

Charles Boyer envious." [37]

In judging the enduring appeal of the image, Darrel

Couturier, representative for Korda since 1997, has

opined that it was "the image of a very dashing young

man" and that in the "age of free love and flower

power … the time was ripe for a figure" or "image that

could represent this great diversity in thinking and

behavior the world over." According to Couturier, this

"age of religious revolution", matched with Guevara's

premature death, "elevated him to almost

martyrdom." [38]

In art and culture

Main article: Che Guevara in popular culture

"When you look closely, you can see that

many iconic photographs are constructed

in the same way; it is possible to copy

the formula. Look at some of the most

enduring images of our age … Like Che,

they are shot from below against a light

background, giving them a raised,

Godlike quality. The angle of the shot is

particularly crucial, as profiles have

little impact and full frontals tend to

flatten the features. The direction and

intensity of the subject's gaze is also

key. Che is looking past the camera, out

to his vision. His line of vision has been

much tinkered with by various artists,

but it retains its passion even on a table

mat or a screensaver. An image like this

is about a sign: it's a shorthand. This

particular one now stands for opposition

to the establishment, freedom and

revolution."

—  Alison Jackson , photographer

and filmmaker [39]

As pop artists took to the image with glee, it evolved

into a popular and heavily commercialized icon that

often strayed far from Che's hard-line Marxist

message. [40] British pop artist Sir Peter Blake has

referred to Guerrillero Heroico as "one of the great

icons of the 20th century." [41] When converted into a

stark black cut-out, Korda's photograph became easy,

cheap, and fast to copy using the favored material and

method of the 1960s: lith film and screen painting. [42]

By the time of his death in 1967, Che was already "a

legend, the romantic epitome of worldwide rebellion"

and in the wake of his perceived martyrdom, Korda's

photograph went viral. [43] Rebellious young people

found in it a "sense of empowerment, a crystallization

of the perennial idealism of youth." [43]

Romanian protests against government

corruption in 2017

According to the V&A Museum, "the photograph

enshrines Che as a mythic hero. Taken from below, the

revolutionary leader with searching eyes and resolute

expression becomes larger than life. A perspective that

dominates the imagery of social realism, it bears an

irresistible aura of authority, independence and

defiance." [7] The V&A Museum goes on to state that

Korda's famous photograph first deified Che and turned

him into an icon of radical chic. Its story, a complex

mesh of conflicting narratives, gave Guerrillero Heroico

a life of its own, an enduring fascination independent of

Che himself.[7] The Italian magazine Skime evokes even

more praise, decreeing it "absolutely the most famous

of history" while proclaiming that it "captures beauty

and youth, courage and generosity, aesthetic and moral

virtues of a person who possessed all the

characteristics necessary to be converted into a symbol

of an epoch like ours, lacking in historic legends and

mythic incarnations." [44] Journalist Richard Gott has

also remarked that "the red star in Che's beret was up

there with 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.' " [34]

Jonathan Green, director of the UCR photography

museum, has remarked that "pop art is a rejection of

traditional figuration, rhetoric, and rendition. Its

egalitarian anti-art stance was the perfect corollary for

Che's anti-establishment attitude." [45]

Exhibits

A public rock mosaic along a street

in Matanzas, Cuba .

"It is the image of a very dashing young

man who was part of a revolution. This

was a revolution of the people for the

people in a time when there was a great

unrest in many parts of the world,

particularly in Latin America, Europe

and the US. The Vietnam War was

raging; students and workers were

protesting and striking; it was the age of

free love and flower power; it was the

pop age; it was the age of religious

revolution. The time was ripe for a

figure, an image that could represent this

great diversity in thinking and behavior

the world over. Che's role in the Cuban

Revolution made him a revered symbol

of world class struggle, equality and

freedom from domination and his

premature death in 1967 elevated him to

almost martyrdom."

— Darrel Couturier, Alberto

Korda's agent who arranged his

first U.S. exhibition in the 1998[46]

1968, the 'Arts Laboratory' in London held an

exhibition on the photograph entitled "Viva Che." [47]

1990, the Jour Agnes B Gallery in Paris, France,

presented an exhibit of Korda's image titled "Che

Guevara: A 21st Century Man." [48]

1998, the UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History

in Los Angeles, California, featured an exhibition

compiled by David Kunzle titled "Che Guevara: Icon,

Myth and Message." [49]

2003, the Centre for Contemporary Art in Rethymnon,

Greece, presented an exhibit titled "Che Guevara's

Death." [50]

2004, the Centro Nacional de la Música, in Buenos

Aires , Argentina , held an exhibition titled "Che

Guevara by the photographers of the Cuban

Revolution." [49]

2005, the UCR/California Museum of Photography

featured an exhibition titled "Revolution and

Commerce: The Legacy of Korda's Portrait of Che

Guevara." [51]

2005, the International Center of Photography in New

York City held an exhibition titled "¡Che! Revolution

and Commerce."

2006, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London

hosted an exhibition titled "Che Guevara:

Revolutionary and Icon." [52]

2007, the La Triennale in Milan, Italy, featured an

exhibition titled "Che Guevara Rebel and Icon: The

Legacy of Korda's Portrait."

2007, the Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam held a

special exhibition about the photograph titled "Che! A

Commercial Revolution."

2007, the Frost Art Museum at Florida International

University in Miami, Florida, presented an exhibition

featuring the photograph. [53]

2008, the WestLicht Gallery in Vienna , Austria,

offered an exhibition on Guerrillero Heróico in

relation to the "development of a mythos." [54]

2008, the Fototeca center in Havana , Cuba, held an

exhibition titled "Korda, Known. Unknown."

2008, the Santralistanbul in Istanbul , Turkey , hosted

the exhibit "Narrative of a Portrait: Korda's Che

from Revolution to Icon." [46]

2009, the Dom Nashchokina Gallery in Moscow,

hosted the exhibition "Che: Hasta Siempre! Meet You

in the Eternity" from June 18 to September 20,

2009. [55]

2010, the International Center of Photography in New

York City, hosted the exhibition "Cuba in Revolution"

from November 11 to January 9, 2011 – which

featured several versions of the image. [56]

Posters and covers

An OSPAAAL poster

advertising the 1969

Tricontinental Conference .

"It is the photograph that adorns student bedsits

across the world. The famed black and white

portrait of Ernesto "Che" Guevara perfectly

captured his intense stare and brooding good looks,

helping establish his myth."

— The Guardian [57]

In 1967 Polish artist Roman Cieslewicz designed a

poster with the words "Che Si" (translation: 'Yes Che')

emblazoned over his face as eyes and nose. This was

later featured on the October 1967 cover of the

French art magazine Opus International .

In 1968, Elena Serrano produced a widely distributed

poster titled "Day of the Heroic Guerrilla", which

shows telescoping images of Korda's photograph

expanding to cover the entire red map of South

America.

The 1968 February issue of Evergreen Review ,

featured Che's image in a painted form by Paul

Davis.
The September 1969 issue of Tricontinental Magazine

featured a conjoined image of Korda's Che with Ho

Chi Minh .

During a 1969 student strike at Berkeley , a poster

was produced and distributed with a cartoon bubble

coming from Che's mouth possessing the words: "Shut

it down!"

In 1970, the Art Workers' Coalition produced a widely

distributed anti-Vietnam War poster featuring an

outline of Che on a yellow background, with his

famous quotation: "Let me say at the risk of

appearing ridiculous, that the true revolutionary is

guided by great feelings of love."

The Rage Against the Machine artwork for their 1993

single, " Bombtrack " features a mirrored version of

the iconic two-tone portrait by Jim Fitzpatrick.

The September 16, 1996 edition of Der Spiegel

magazine titled: "The Myth of Che Guevara",

featured Che's image adorned with a halo of moving

bullets.

A computerized rendition of Guerrillero Heroico

appeared on the cover of the March 1–7, 2006 issue

of Metro , above the title "The Blog Revolution."

In 2003, Madonna 's album American Life featured

the singer redoing Guerrillero Heroico .

The December 2008 issue of Rolling Stone Argentina

features Guerrillero Heroico on the cover. [58]

Commodity

T-shirts for sale at the Museo de la

Revolución gift shop in Havana, Cuba .

See also: Che Guevara clothing and fashion

accessories

The Che image has been cited as an example of the

merging of politics and marketing and the power that

images hold over our society. [40] Trisha Ziff, the

curator of a 2004 touring exhibition on the iconography

of Che has stated that "Che Guevara has become a

brand. And the brand's logo is the image, which

represents change. It has become the icon of the outside

thinker, at whatever level, whether it is anti-war, pro-

green or anti-globalisation. Its presence, everywhere

from Belfast to Soweto, or from walls in the Palestinian

territories to Parisian boutiques, makes it an image that

is out of control. It has become a corporation, an

empire, at this point." [59]

Alberto Korda's photograph has received wide

distribution and modification, appearing on countless

numbers of T-shirts, posters, consumer products, protest

banners, personal tattoos, and in many other formats. It

has morphed into an iconic countercultural symbol for

a new generation of youth. [60] The image is now worn

on the chests of a diverse group of individuals, from

those who truly support the ideals that Che Guevara

lived for, to those expressing a more generalized anti-

authoritarian stance.[59]

Iconography

A mural of Guerrillero Heroico on

the side of a house in Cuba.

If this were a photo session, you couldn't

have asked for more. The model, long-

haired with steely gaze and wispy

guerrillero beard. Jacket zipped to the

chin. Collar up and hair uncombed. Jaw

set in anger. Beret at a perfect, rakish

tilt. There's tension even in his pose: his

shoulders turning one way, his face

another. And those eyes, mournful but

defiant, staring up and to the right as if

at some distant vision of the future, or a

giant, slow-approaching foe.

—  Ben Ehrenreich , Los Angeles

Times [61]

Journalist Michael Casey, in his 2009 book Che's

Afterlife: The Legacy of an Image, notes how the

universal image can be found "in all corners of the

world" and theorizes that it arrived as a symbol of

rebellion during an era when the world was aching for

change. [2] In defining Korda's photograph as a "brand"

and "quintessential post-modern icon", Casey notes that

somehow the photograph encapsulates "hope and

beauty," which causes people around the globe to

"invest their dreams in it." [2] While David Kunzle,

author of the book Che Guevara: Icon, Myth, and

Message , has opined that "The beret functions

subliminally as a flattened halo ." [62]

A Che banner in Kasargod , India ,

announcing the district conference for

the Students Federation of India .

Trisha Ziff, the curator of Che! Revolution and

Commerce describes Guerrillero Heroico as a

"statuesque image taken from below," which "derives

from a visual language of mythologized heroes harking

back to an era of socialist realism" while referencing "a

classical Christ-like demeanor." [63] Jon Lee Anderson ,

author of Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life , in the

photograph Che appears "as the ultimate revolutionary

icon" with "his eyes staring boldly into the future" and

"his expression a virile embodiment of outrage at social

injustice." [41]

The stylized image of Che Guevara, adapted from

Korda's photograph, is commonly accompanied by

several different symbols that add context to its

inherent suggested meaning. The most common of these

are the red star, [64] hammer and sickle , [65] Cuban

flag, [66] and the saying in Spanish "Hasta la Victoria

Siempre" [67] (Translation: "Towards Victory, Always").

The multi meaning phrase became the sign off for Che

Guevara's numerous letters and speeches as a

revolutionary, [68] and represent the commitment to both

never give up on the eventual triumph of a Marxist

world revolution, and the belief that this victory once it

occurs, will be eternal . As a result, "Hasta la Victoria

Siempre" has become a de facto slogan or

catchphrase , [69] used as a motto by those who continue

to support and/or admire Che Guevara's life and/or

ideals. [70]

Copyright status

A 2009 highway billboard with Che's slogan of

"Hasta la Victoria Siempre" (Towards Victory,

Always).

For decades the famous image was unhindered by

international copyright agreements, because Cuba was

not a signatory to the Berne Convention . Fidel Castro

described it as a " bourgeois concept" which meant that

artists and advertisers were free to use Korda's work as

they pleased. [40] Legally, Cuban Law no. 156 signed on

September 28, 1994, to amend part of Law no. 14 of the

1977 Copyright Act (Article 47), states that pictures

taken in Cuba fall into the public domain worldwide, 25

years after their first use. [71] As for the United States,

since the image was first published in Cuba without

compliance with U.S. copyright formalities and used in

Cuba before February 20, 1972 (more than 25 years

before Cuba signed the Berne Convention in 1997) it is

also generally, although not universally, considered to

be in the public domain .

Despite conflicting claims about whether or not the

image could have copyright established, Korda's

children have sought to control commercial use of the

image from defamation. Korda's daughter Diana Diaz

pursued a 2003 lawsuit in France against a Paris-based

press rights group Reporters Without Borders , for using

the Che photograph in a poster campaign decrying Cuba

as "the world's largest jail", aimed at dissuading French

tourists from vacationing in Cuba after the jailing of 29

dissident journalists. [72] In suing the group for 1.14

million euros , Diaz's lawyer, Randy Yaloz remarked

that "we are going after everyone who betrays the

moral rights of my client". [73] Moral rights are a

separate component of copyright law that are not

recognized in the U.S., but are recognized in some other

countries, notably in France where Diaz filed the

lawsuit. [74] Moral rights aim to protect the integrity of

a work from defamation, distortion, slander, or

offensive mutilation, even if the originator no longer

owns the copyright. [74] However, Reporters Without

Borders stopped using the image before any legal

judgment was rendered. [73]

Ariana Hernández-Reguant addressed the image's

copyright status in 2004 in her article Copyrighting Che:

Art and Authorship under Cuban Late Socialism. She

expressed a skeptical view towards Korda's heirs being

able to establish ownership over the image, noting in

reference to the lawsuits involving the image, "There

was never any official ruling on whether the depiction

constituted a violation of copyright." The author goes on

to state that: "Korda took the picture while working for

a state-run newspaper, his actual property rights would

be questionable under both Cuban and international

law." [75]

"We're not after money, we just don't want him

misused. He can be a universal person, but respect

the image."

— Aleida Guevara , Che's daughter [76]

In 2007, law student Sarah Levy also addressed the

potential legal status of the image in Cuba. It was her

ultimate contention that "in Cuba the copyright

protection in Korda's Guevara photograph would have

already expired, and despite the claims of ownership

from Korda's heirs, the State would now hold any rights

associated with the photograph." [77] In regards to the

more commonly disseminated stylized version of the

photograph, lawyers say it will be an uphill struggle to

deter non-photographic use of such a widely reproduced

image, other than in countries like Italy where laws

protect image rights. [72]

Guevara's heirs also believe they have legal

justification to prevent the image's "exploitation" or

slander . Guevara's Cuban widow Aleida March stated in

2005 that "We have a plan to deal with the misuse. We

can't attack everyone with lances like Don Quixote, but

we can try to maintain the ethics of Guevara's

legacy." [72] In reference to this pronouncement,

Guevara's daughter Aleida Guevara told Reuters , "It

will be costly and difficult because each country has

different laws, but a limit has to be drawn." [