Scenes From a Revolution Korda Photo Exhibit Chronicles Cuban Uprising With Drama, Style by Gary Tischler As a photographer in Cuba, he is known by one name: Korda. Otherwise, he is Alberto Diaz Gutierrez. Korda is the man who took the photograph of Che Gueveraóthe charismatic Cuban leaderóin 1960 that has turned into an icon. It was on posters and T-shirts, and for a time, it was taken to heart as the ideal of rebellion by just about every American youth with notions of protesting something or another. For Korda, the photo was part of a larger effort: He was the chronicler of the revolution as it states in his aptly named book of photographs, "Diario de una Revolucion." Washingtonians will get a close-up look at the man and his work when the Govinda Gallery in Georgetown opens its exhibition of photographs, which show Cuba in the present and in the past, with a selection of works by Korda as "Photographer of the Revolution" and by Jose Figueroa in "Photographs of Contemporary Cuba" from June 15 to July 21. What is odd about Korda, who is now in his 70s, is that he started out as a fashion photographer and married one of his favorite models. From fashion to revolution is a major jump, but inherent in much of his work is drama and idealization. These arenít ordinary photographs. You can practically hear the sound of automatic weapons firing in the background. Korda had no idea that when he took the Guevara photo that it would become famous. It was one of a number of pictures he took of the Cuban minister of defense, and at the time, it didnít seem that it would have historic reverberations, although he did call it "Guerrillero Heroico." There were a lot of other important people at the occasionóa commemoration of victims of the sinking of the steamboat La Coubraóincluding Fidel Castro, Simone de Beauvoir and Jean Paul Sartre. Seven years later, the revolution had become institutionalized and Che Guevara was dead, shot and killed in Bolivia. And thatís when the photograph became an icon, with Guevera becoming simply Che, a kind of patron saint and martyr of revolutionaries everywhere. Many of the images in Kordaís book seem familiar. They are part of history, albeit stylized and dramatic: Castro at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial; a charming, slightly overweight Guevera smoking a cigar and smiling or playing golf in army fatigues; or in uniform and beret, in intense conversation with de Beauvoir and Sartre. Despite the controversies between Cuba and the United States, Cuba remains a point of passionate interest, historically, culturally and artistically. Govinda Gallery is at 1227 34th St. in Georgetown. Call (202) 333-1180 for information. Gary Tischler is the arts reviewer for The Washington Diplomat.