Alberto Korda

Sous Les Etoiles Gallery and the Alberto Korda Estate are pleased to announce the first survey exhibition of photographer Alberto Korda’s 1959 and 1960 visits to the US with Fidel Castro.  The exhibition, titled “Korda in America,” is comprised of over 60 images, almost all of which have never before been seen or exhibited.  An opening reception will be held on Thursday, December 17, 6-8pm, and a Talk with Diana Diaz, daughter of Korda, is scheduled for Monday, December 21, at 7pm.

“Korda in America,” shot during Fidel Castro’s historic first visits to America in April of 1959—at the invitation of the American Society of Newspaper Editors—and September of 1960, is a testament to both Cuba’s and Korda’s enduring significance.  Korda, reporting for the newly created Cuban newspaper Revolución, documented Castro, both the man and political figure, as no other photographer was able.  In the span of approximately fourteen days between Washington, New York and Boston in April of 1959, Korda documents a whirlwind of activity, capturing not only the public face of the 33-year-old Prime Minister of Cuba, but also the relaxed, intimate, and even humorous moments throughout the visit.  Despite the US government’s increasing concerns over Castro’s political plans, the seductive personality of the charismatic leader was conscientiously chronicled by Korda.  In addition to his photojournalism duties, Korda also reveals his lifelong passion for fashion photography and feminine beauty.  After photographing the bearded former guerilla fighter in olive-green fatigues on the set of NBC’s Meet the Press as he explains his impressions of the “nice and noble” US citizens, Korda turns his attention to an anonymous model in a smart suit who poses alongside the police barricades of New York as the crowd waits for Castro to drive down the street.