Corrales, Raúl

Raúl Corral Fornos, whose artistic name is Raúl Corrales, was born in Ciego de Ávila on January 29, 1925, and passed away in Cojímar, Ciudad Habana, on April 23, 2006. His career began in 1944, first as a laboratory assistant and later as a photojournalist for the Cuba Sono Films Agency. When the effects of McCarthyism reached Cuba and Sono Film was closed, Corrales began to collaborate (1953) with the magazines Carteles and Bohemia under the name Raúl Varela. From 1957 to 1958, he was the director of photography for the Siboney advertising agency, and from 1959 to 1961, he was a photographer accompanying Fidel Castro. During that period, he also contributed to magazines such as Revolución and INRA. In 1961, Corrales was one of the founders of the photography section of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba, and from 1964 to 1991, he was the head of the microfilm and photography section of the Office of Historical Affairs of the Council of State.