Antonio Caballero was 22 years old when he fortuitously captured a moment that he can never forget.
In 1962, a worldwide scandal was generated when a bare-crotched image of Marilyn Monroe showed that the American actress was not wearing intimate clothing and that she was not a natural blonde either.
The author of the photograph that was published in international media was the Mexican Antonio Caballero, who, 54 years later, tells Notimex how he captured the moment that February 22 in the Virreinal Hall of the disappeared Continental Hotel in Mexico City, reports Notimex
“I was working as a freelancer for the Cine Mundial newspaper and the day before the editor, Octavio Alba, called me to ask me to make a team, because Marilyn Monroe was coming to Mexico. The appointment was at two in the afternoon and I decided that I would take Mario Marzano and José Luis Mújica, who were my partners in an office, "he said.
They arrived at 1:30 p.m. and by that time, there were already several representatives of print media, such as El Fígaro, Esto, Ovaciones and Excelsior.
When the clock struck almost four in the afternoon, the press began to despair and already upset, they considered the possibility of leaving until the Hollywood star appeared from an elevator.
The order that prevailed in the place a few seconds ago, got out of control and a riot broke out. Antonio Caballero asked his companions to move back, because although he had been in the front row, he was very close to the blonde and it was difficult for him to open the shot.
With a big smile, Marilyn Monroe greeted those present and went to a chair to sit down. In front of her was a table with a bucket that chilled a bottle of champagne and a glass from which the actress would drink.
“Of all the 50 or so photographers that we were, I managed to get squatted, squashed and practically at Marilyn's feet. Because the bucket was in the way, I asked them to remove it and when she takes the cup, she uncrosses her leg and that's where I caught the moment, ”she explained.
What was revealed
For that second, the photojournalist, barely 22 years old, was unaware of the image that his Yashica Mat-124-type camera would reveal. It was not until in the laboratory when he discovered the characteristics of the image and his first words were: "Wow, what a photo!".
“My colleagues told me that I had done it on purpose, that I had seen that I had no underwear and that as a soccer goalkeeper, I threw myself with the camera to take the photo, but that was impossible, I had not realized it and The truth is that I did not like the image, "he admitted.
In size 8X10 he took it to Octavio Alba. Along with him were Alfonso Gaona, the then owner of the Plaza de Toros México, and the journalist Jacobo Zabludovsky, who asked him for a copy and left them with him.
In the following hours, the journalistic medium already knew about the photo, but Antonio Caballero denied it, "because at that time it was very ugly to say that he had taken the public hair of a so-and-so", and that was when several of his companions began to claim the rights.
Cine Mundial chose not to publish it immediately, but two days later and with a black censor tape.
The cost
Caballero sold it to the newspaper for 10 pesos, which was what he and his colleagues were paid per photo, because at that time this business was not as commercialized as it is now that "everyone calls themselves paparazzo."
Days later, a Jewish friend, Max Kolozwky (Italian businessman) also bought it from him, but for 20 pesos in order to show it in Europe, where Caballero achieved fame, which he began to pay for in Mexico when, during an assembly of the Association of Photographers and Show Cameramen, the laboratory technician and later photographer Fernando Servín, asked him for the 6X6 negative.
“I had it in a little envelope and when I lent it to him, he ran away. I thought that at the end of the assembly I would see him, but he disappeared and so I drew up a record. Although we won the case, later I suspended everything because they wanted to take away the department of social interest from him and the reality is that the lawsuit was with him, not with his family”.
Some time after having lived through this experience, Caballero, a pioneer of fotonovelas in Mexico, opted to register the image under Copyright, advised by the director of the magazine Proceso at the time and by the novelist Vicente Leñero.
Not being upset
When the photograph arrived in the United States, Marilyn Monroe did not give it importance, as she found out.
"During her visit to Mexico she came with very little publicity, because she had become infamous during her recent filming, so she did not bother to comment on anything and did not feel offended, not even when it was said that she was not a real blonde. and that he did not wear panties, ”he stressed.
Almost six months after her visit to Mexico, Monroe passed away. The first version assured that it was a suicide and from there, Antonio Caballero was mocked. Her classmates told her that by revealing that she was not blonde, the actress had chosen to commit suicide.
“But I didn't pay attention to any of that. What is true is that at that time, my photo was still attracting attention, it gave me a lot of fame, but it also caused me a lot of envy. There were those who challenged me to blows, like Luis Mayo who, without my consent, published the photo in a museum on the streets of Tacuba and said it was his."
On the day of the conference, the actress talked about everything and nothing, said the lens artist. He considered that many of the attending journalists lacked more liveliness and did not delve into the meeting with the celebrity.
Marilyn book coming soon
“I will never forget that day I saw Marilyn. When she appeared she was like seeing the sun, she radiated light and splendor. She had a tremendous angel, a beauty, her little voice, her way of being. She was very kind. Everyone called her a fool, but she had absolutely nothing of that, she was very intelligent”.
By then, other artists such as Brigitte Bardot, Merle Oberon, and Maureen O'Hara had already come to Mexico, but they did not cause much of a stir because, as Antonio Caballero says, "there is none like Marilyn Monroe," he concluded.
Currently, with Alberto Carbot, the photographer is preparing to publish a book about the actress's visit to Mexico. After an intense four-year investigation, various details of her life are revealed. The text will be translated into English, French and Spanish.
