Jose Dias Herrera

Jose Dias Herrera began his photographic career in 1937 and went on to document the changing city of Santos, people famous in Brazil and abroad, and the political upheavals in his country over the decades. He is best known for his black-and-white photographs of his fellow countryman and world-renowned soccer legend, Pelé. He was working as a photojournalist for the Diários Associados when he first turned his lens on Pelé. He chronicled the athlete’s career, from his beginnings at the Santos Futebol Clube in 1956 to his rise to fame as the so-called King of Soccer. Herrera captured this larger-than-life figure in action and in repose, and in public and private moments.