La Coubre explosion sold to a shipping company in Cyprus and renamed "Barbara". Alberto Korda took photos at the memorial service for victims of the "La Coubre" explosion, including "Guerrillero Heroico", which has become an iconic image of Che Guevara. La Coubre explosion The French freighter La Coubre () exploded in the harbor of Havana, Cuba, on 4 March 1960 while it was unloading 76 tons of munitions. Casualties may have been as high as 100, and many more were injured. Fidel Castro charged it was an act of sabotage on the part of the United States, which denied any involvement. Unloading explosive
Guerrillero Heroico Korda continued to print both versions of the image up until his death. 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." 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