This is a devoted page to my idol and hero CHE GUEVARA.
Ever since I got into socialism through an old friend of mine I have
continued to read about Che and his exploits all over the world. There
were many things that I dont agree with that he did but mostly I see why
he did them and agree that his motives although different to mine were
still acceptable to many people. 
BIOGRAPHY:
Ernesto 'Che' Guevara (1928 - 1967)
Guerrilla Warrior
National Hero of Cuba
Biographical
Notes
'Che' Guevara
was born Ernesto Guevara de la Serna on 14 June 1928 in Rosario,
Argentina, into a relatively upper-middle class family. His father was a
construction engineer. He was the first of five children.
Develops a
severe asthmatic condition at the age of two, prompting his family to move
to the drier climate of Alta Gracia, Cordoba.
Most of his
early education was provided by his mother at home. He is reported to have
read widely and deeply from his father's library, encountering
Marx and
Freud in his early teens.
In 1941, he
attends the Colegio Nacional Dean Funes, a secondary school in Cordoba.
Enrolled in
the University of Buenos Aires in 1948, studies medicine, becomes
interested in leprosy. His asthma disqualifies him for military service.
Makes a 4,000
mile long journey through Northern Argentina alone on a moped,
encountering many indigenous tribes and experiencing first hand the
impoverished conditions of their lives.
In 1951, he
takes off on a motorcycle journey with his good friend, Alberto Granado.
They travel from Buenos Aires, down the coast of Argentina, through the
Andes into Chile, and then north into Peru, Columbia and Venezuela. The
diary Che kept during this time has been published as:
The Motorcycle Diaries: A Journey Around South America.
He qualifies
as a doctor in 1953, specializing in dermatology. Around this time he was
exposed to the attempted worker reforms following the National Revolution
of 1952 in Boliva.
Walks and
hitchhikes to Guatemala, witnesses the overthrow of the radical socialist
government of Jacobo Arbenz by USA-supported Castillo Armas. He could not
help but note the vital role that the
CIA played in the counter-revolution. Establishes connections with
Peruvian Apristas and other Latin American radicals.
In September
of 1954, he moves to Mexico City, finding work in the General Hospital.
Through Hilda Gadea, a Peruvian Marxist, he meets
Fidel Castro and involves himself in the planned invasion of
Cuba.
He marries Gadea. They have a daughter, Hildita.
Under the
influence of Castro, Alberto Bayo and the writings of
Mao Tse-tung, he begins to form the primary axioms of his philosophy
of guerrilla warfare. In this time he also began to be called 'Che', for
his habit of ending his sentences and calling his friends 'Che'- which is
an Argentinian expression for buddy.
In 1956, the
revolutionaries land in Cuba on the "yacht" Granma, initating a
three-year guerrilla war against the dictator, Fulgencio Batista. Che is
included at first for his medical expertise but soon rises through the
ranks to become the Commandante of the Revolutionary Army of Barbutos. In
this role, he is directly responsible for dozens of executions of
defectors and Batista loyalists.
The
revolutionaries succeed in overthrowing the Batista regime in January of
1959. Che is now considered second only to Castro, who appoints him
Governor of the National Bank.
He marries
Aleida March de la Torre, with whom he eventually has four children.
He is made
Minister for Industry in 1961, becomes increasingly hostile towards US
interests in the Cuban economy, strengthens relationship with USSR. During
the
Cuban Missile Crisis, Che advocates nuclear confrontation.
From 1961 to
1965, he travels with his wife around the world as an ambassador for Cuba.
Becomes
disillusioned with Soviet
Communism, makes a formal break in a speech delivered in February of
1965. Calls for guerrilla-type revolutionary actions in Africa, Asia and
South America.
Che goes
underground, traveling through Africa, eventually assembling a group of
Cubans to fight in the Kinshasa rebellion in the Congo. The rebellion
fails and Che withdraws in August of 1965.
Castro
informally removes Guevara from office, their ideas for the future of Cuba
having radically diverged.
He disguises
himself as Uraguayan economist, shaving off his beard and not wearing his
famous beret, in order to travel incognito through Latin America.
In November
1966, he leads a group of guerrillas through southeastern Bolivia, hoping
to inspire the peasants and workers into a revolutionary movement that
would spread all throughout Latin America, sparking off "twenty new
Vietnams". Dispirited by casualties, illness and depression, the
ragged group is cornered by a Bolivian battalion (which had been trained
by US Special Forces in anti-guerrilla warfare) in a gorge on October 8.
Two jets and a helicopter provide air support. Che is taken to the nearby
town of La Higuera.
He refuses all
attempts at interrogation by CIA and Bolivan officials. The Bolivian
president, General Rene Barrientos, orders the execution of Guevara as
soon as possible.
9 October
1967. After a few false starts and Che's telling them to get it over with,
six or more shots are fired into Guevara's torso. One version of his
reported last words were: "I knew you were going to shoot me; I should
never have been taken alive. Tell Fidel that this failure does not mean
the end of the revolution, that it will triumph elsewhere. Tell Aleida to
forget this, remarry and be happy, and keep the children studying. Ask the
soldiers to aim well." Others have claimed his last words to have been:
"Shoot, coward! You are going to kill a man."
After his
death, a death mask was made and his hands were cut off to ensure
identification. His body was buried in a secret grave. Guevara was 39
years old.
In June of
1997, a team of Cuban and Argentinian scientists recovered the skeleton,
missing both hands, of Guevara in the town of Vallegrande, Bolivia. The
bones have since been "repatriated" to Cuba.
Quotes
-
"It is better
to die standing than to live on your knees."
-
"The question
is one of fighting the causes and not just the effects. This revolution
is bound to fail if it doesn't succeed in reaching deep inside them,
stirring them right down to the bone, and giving them back their stature
as human beings. Otherwise, what's the use?"
-
"Hatred is an
element of struggle; relentless hatred of the enemy that impels us over
and beyond the natural limitations of man and transforms us into
effective, violent, selective, and cold killing machines. Our soldiers
must be thus; a people without hatred cannot vanquish a brutal enemy."
-
"Man really
attains the state of complete humanity when he produces, without being
forced by physical need to sell himself as a commodity."
Subcultural
Relevance
The 30 year
anniversary of Guevara's death, the publication of a slew of books, and
the timely recovery of his bones have amply served to underscore the
recent surge in the popularity of the sixties guerrilla leader. The famous
photograph of Che in black beret taken by Korda has become an icon all
over the world. His image is used by everyone from politically subversive
rock bands to advertisers seeking credibility. In Cuba and many parts of
Latin America, he is spoken of in an almost Christ-like reverence. The
Cuban government actively cultivates a "Che mythos", exploiting the
nostalgia for the good old revolutionary days.
The issue of
Che Guevara's relevance is two-fold. Primarily, his life represents the
archetype of revolutionary in the late 20th century political theater. On
the other hand, the blatant and nothing less than pornographic whoring of
his image vividly illustrates the dangers of mediated manipulation and
recontextualization of a threatening personality. It would be a sad, but
telling, fate if Che ended up only being remembered as fashionable
martyr-rebel icon for Madsion Avenue. The imperative here is to not become
seduced by the advertized images and empty slogans; but to see through it
into the complexities and, at times, difficult aspects of the
extraordinary human being that was Che Guevara. |
