Che Guevara. He is loved and he is hated. He is one of the biggest commercial successes and one of the most brutal murderers in recent history. It is no wonder that a man so passionately loved and hated is familiar to most people. This list looks at some of the less familiar aspects of his life. If you have other little known facts about Che Guevara, be sure to tell us in the comments.
The name “Che Guevara” either incites love or hate. The name is synonymous with freedom fighting to some, and butchery to others. What most people don’t know is that Che’s real name was not quite so romantic; he was born Ernesto Lynch. That’s right – Che Guevara was actually plain old Mr Lynch. It doesn’t have quite the same ring to it does it? His surname comes from the fact that his family was half Irish. Ernesto Lynch is pictured above at the age of 22.
Che Guevara as a youth was nicknamed “Chancho” (pig) because of his bathing habits (or lack thereof) and the fact that he proudly wore a “weekly shirt” – ie, a shirt he changed once a week. All through his life people commented on his smelliness (though obviously not to his face once he had the power to execute people on a whim).
Contrary to the image we all have of Guevara, in his youth he was quite the geek. He loved playing Chess and even entered local tournaments. In between hanging out with his chess buddies, Ernesto would read poetry which he loved with a passion. His favorite subjects at school were mathematics and engineering. I think we could safely say that if he were a teenager today, he would be EMO. Pictured above is an artist’s impression of EMO Ernesto Lynch (AKA Che Guevara).
While Guevara is best remembered for his actions in Cuba, he was actually born in Argentina to wealthy parents and he never became a Cuban citizen. When he was born, his father said “the first thing to note is that in my son’s veins flowed the blood of the Irish rebels.”
There seems to be some dispute about this fact around the Internet, but in June 1953, Guevara completed his medical studies and graduated as Doctor Ernesto Guevara. While studying he was particularly interested in the disease Leprosy.
In 1964, Guevara travelled to the United States to give a speech to the United Nations in New York. You can watch a portion of it in the video clip above. Whilst there he condemned the US for their racial segregation policies: “Those who kill their own children and discriminate daily against them because of the color of their skin; those who let the murderers of blacks remain free, protecting them, and furthermore punishing the black population because they demand their legitimate rights as free men — how can those who do this consider themselves guardians of freedom?”
We tend not to see Guevara as a family man, but in fact he had one child with his first wife, Hilda Gadea, a daughter who was born in Mexico City on February 15, 1956, and he had four children with his second wife, the revolutionary Aleida March. Pictured above is Camilo – Che’s son.
After hie execution, a military doctor amputated Che’s hands. Bolivian army officers transferred Guevara’s body to an undisclosed location and refused to reveal whether his remains had been buried or cremated. The hands were preserved in formaldehyde to be sent to Buenos Aires for fingerprint identification. (His fingerprints were on file with the Argentine police.) They were later sent to Cuba.
The high-contrast monochrome graphic of his face has become one of the world’s most universally merchandized and objectified images, found on an endless array of items, including t-shirts, hats, posters, tattoos, and even bikinis, ironically contributing to the consumer culture he despised. The original image was snapped at a memorial service by newspaper photographer Alberto Korda. At the time, only Korda thought highly of the shot, and hung the picture on his wall, where it stayed until an Italian journalist saw it, asked if he could have it, and Korda obliged.
Guevara remains a beloved national hero to many in Cuba, where his image adorns the $3 Cuban Peso and school children begin each morning by pledging “We will be like Che.” In his native homeland of Argentina, where high schools bear his name, numerous Che museums dot the country, and in 2008 a 12 foot bronze statue of him was unveiled in his birth city of Rosario. Additionally, Guevara has been sanctified by some Bolivian farm workers as “Saint Ernesto”, to whom they pray for assistance. Needless to say, the Catholic Church does not consider Guevara to be a saint and strongly opposes the adulation of him.
i dont think those things make him an emo.
whoever wrote this was trying to make light of who he was. Being that people can think for themselves ..he (the writer) failed miserably.
I know a Cuban that despises Che. Interesting list.
Cuban exiles hate Che once they learn the truth, the fact that he was a murderer. In Cuba, people don’t know about what he did, and how many people he killed. People idolize him.
Cuban-exiles hate Che for the same reasons that Venezuelan-exiles hate Chavez. Those who flee the countries when these men take power are the ones who lose their wealth in the revolutions. Hence why Che is generally hated by those who were middle and upper class, and loved by those who are lower and working class.
(Cue random anecdotal evidence to the contrary.)
I have to disagree status isn’t the issue the issue is information and the lack there of. In Cuba the truth isn’t advertised just like here (except if you speak the truth your put in jail without a time limit). This is clearly not just a Cuban issue those who right history are usually the victors therefore you need to dig a little deeper. It’s all about INFORMATION not about class or money, information is free (to a degree). I am Cuban and very proud of it. Unfortunately my ideas of freedom are not reflected in my place of birth and I had to do research on my countries history. I read several books and spoke to family members. Overall like I said it’s about INFORMATION and I don’t like CHE one little bit. Just for clarification my family was working class in Cuba and still is.
I'll never understand why people make a big fuss about him being 'a murderer'
He was a soldier. Of course he killed people. Why don't we make a big fuss about our own soldiers and call them murderers?
Let's be consistent, people! Che Guevara was a soldier and died as a soldier. He expected no less from his enemies as he did unto them – it was war.
Now, if we're talking about his 'purging' of counterrevolutionaries after the revolution, let's put that into perspective:
What do we do with war criminals after a war? We trial them for war crimes.
That's exactly what Fidel Castro and Che Guevara did. The trial and executions of many many 'counterrevolutionaries' or 'Batista supporters' or however you want to call them, was a decision that was heavily supported by the population, and as Raul Gómez Treto points out, were similar in execution and consistent with the Nuremberg Trials we had after World War 2
Now, I'm not saying Che was perfect. He was a Leninist. The regime he helped create might be better than Batista's but still holds an oppressive control in the Cuban media.
Nevertheless, with the above said, it kinda takes away the whole 'mass murderer' schtick, doesn't it?
THANK you Alan, phew, lol.
Absolutely agree on this.
No, He executed INNOCENT people with his own pistol. He was a murderer. Why not get an education before you post stupid statements, little one?
Couldn’t disagree more. The US backed Batista regime and dictatorship mercilessly killed tens of thousands of innocent Cuban citizens both before and during the rebellion while the US puppet master made plans to squeeze as much wealth out of the country as they could as they had been doing all across Latin America.
As bad as Socialism might seem through propaganda etc. it’s easy to overlook a very important point, that is that people of poor countries don’t benefit from Capitalization, no matter how much the captains of Industry bribe their politicians.
Another little known fact is that Castro traded the captured US “Bay of Pigs” soldiers for baby food and medical supplies (doesn’t sound like the actions of a self obsessed Tyrant, does it?).
And how many innocent people do you think American soldiers have killed? How many unarmed women and children do you think died at their hands?
Well, this is a little too late to comment but i want to do it anyway. Sorry for my poor english, it’s not my native language.
Thank you for pointing that out, FurisousFran.
And from now on is for you Bilbo. Do you know that in the Vietnam war, there’s a time one troop of american soldiers kille a whole vietnamese village? A whole village with around 500 people in 1 day. And you know what, most of them are old people, women and children. In one of the photos take on and after the event, you can even see the body of a woman just giving birth to her infant well of course, died with her. And you think they are not INNOCENT people? Try google the MY LAI MASSACRE and tell me what do you think.
Good point. On the other hand we don’t lionize those soldiers or wear shirts with their faces printed on them…
Very good example: Vietnam
I agree Alan, thank you. People cant go by what an angry friend has to say. People need to read more and learn the truth and then use common sense. in war its kill or be killed, lets be realistic.
Again thank you Alan.
He murdered families on a daily basis folks. How about the little kid who stole a loaf of bread for his family and was caught. Yeah Che personaly put a bullet in his head. This is not a soilder but a plain freaked out murderer. Only the dumb and blind look to this Commie as a hero. What idiots.
11. Alan Jimenez : Che was a guerrilla, if he had to kill a civilian in the name of Marxism, he would. That's why people call him a murderer.
"…The trial and executions of many many ‘counterrevolutionaries’ or ‘Batista supporters’ or however you want to call them, was a decision that was heavily supported by the population…"
Likewise the German public largely supported or simply ignored the Holocaust, public support doesn't make something right. And fighting in a war, and losing, isn't a reason to be executed. It's a poor and transparent excuse.
"…Now, I’m not saying Che was perfect. He was a Leninist…"
He was Marxist…
the losers are almost always executed…Alan is right. Int he context of war, or in this case, revolutions, executions are commomplace. remember Marie Antionette.
He personally only killed around ten and many were his own guerillas some of whom were caught raping peasants…(Jon Lee Anderson)
Che was a Stalinist
He wasn’t merely a “Marxist” he was a Leninist and a Stalinist, both of whom deviated from Marxism in ways that make the label “Marxist” very suspect
Yeah, I find marxist principles rubbish too. Btw, I read somewhere that Che had asthma. I don't know whether it's true.
yes he did have asthma and it bothered him while he was in the jungles
Yeah, his asthma was really really bad.
aera52 on October 12, 2009 nah i saw the show last night and im in seydny. And this christmas Eve was even better! She was soo fantastic. she has a much funnier transiotion between voices and such awesome gestures with her words. Shes stil my fav
Picture in #8: Planet of the Apes?
Spanish bombs on the list g. Time to brush on my study of fine cigars yo.
che guevarra is cool! rock on!!!
This is pretty good, I think one fact many dont know is that he was determined to bring about universal communism, and went to Bolivia only after a failed campaign in Congo. He did however start many socialist and communist revolutions all over latin america
The iconic image (Point 2) was made by Jim Fitzgerald. It was originally produced without copyright, as the artist wanted people to make reproductions, and their own versions.
Copyright has since been sought, gained and signed over to a Childrens hospital in Cuba, with the aim that all further authorised reproductions will benefit the Childrens hospital
jamie, My chrome keeps telling me that this site contain malware… what gives?
Max – please send me a screenshot of the warning – jamie at frater dot com
Wow. This was a fantastic list just based on the kinds of comments in is inspiring. I'm not really sure what to think of Che. I'm from the US and am a Romance Language major, and my Spanish classes pretty much require me to learn about Che, but the information on him is so disparate in opinion. I know Cubans who love him, and I know Cubans who hate him. Since I can't figure out how to relate to the subject at all, I've chosen to treat Che simply as a historical subject until I can figure out what to think about him.
Anyway, keep up the great comments. It is very interesting.
Good list…but the emo thing was a bid disrespectfull
Alan Jimenez: a more true comparison would be a democrat taking power in the US and murdering the Republican leaders and their children. That is what Che did – he murdered children and political opponents and it was not a war – it was a coup. Murdering your political opponents is a crime.
Oh – further to my last comment – what was Batista’s crime? It was being suspected by the communists of being an American puppet. The standard of living in Cuba was excellent under Batista – since then it has become a disaster (regardless of what Michael Moore tries to portray in his propaganda movies) as is the case in basically every Marxist state. There is not a single example of a Marxist state which is better for the people than a democratic one. Marxist principles have led to utter disaster everywhere they ends up.
It’s really not hard to do research… Batista returned to his leadership through a U.S. backed Coup and became a dictator, there he suspended the constitution. He also negotiated business with U.S. mafia members. There were very frequent student riots and anti-Batista movements. The U.S. supplied weaponry which was used to carry out public executions… I would hardly say this was a time of prosperity. Cuba may not be the freest place on earth right no but I would say it is much freer now.
Item #2 Ironic Icon
The high-contrast monochrome graphic of his face has become one of the world’s most universally merchandized and objectified images
Why? And to what market?
I recognize the image, but as a U.S. citizen, I don’t see it marketed heavily here. But I also recognize that my country is but a small part of the world’s population.
So as a question asked in good faith–Where is the icon’s largest market and what does it represent?
As an example: Bob Marley’s iconic image is also worldwide, and has a vast array of meanings, including support of Reggae, Rastafarianism, ganja, martyrdom, brotherhood beyond race, etc.
Is there a diversity of meaning to Che’s visage?
Also I thought the pic for #8 looked like “The Artist Formerly Known as Che”
Those things don’t make him an emo.
15. sium : “…I find marxist principles rubbish too…”
Really? I think principles are the only thing that Marxism has going for it…
I’m not so sure about the rank and file Cubans being better off under Batista. I’m thinking the poor were worse off and that many of the current economic woes are the fault of American policy and embargo. No doubt the rich were way better off – that was the point wasn’t it? I think we should talk to some of the people who used to work/slave for United Fruit.
What deeziner no love for Maddox? Best page in the universe? (or so he claims, we know better don’t we?) Check it out; his take on immigration is spot on.
14. jfrater “what was Batista’s crime?”
Do you mean aside from seizing the government in a coup?
20. poiu098 : I think it would be rather hypocritical for Fidel to be pointing the finger…
The “narrator” character in Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s “Evita” is an Argentinian “everyman” named “Che”. Producer Harold Lloyd wanted him to be sort-of based on Che Geuvara, so most performers in that role modelled their appearance on his. Some lines in the show were tweaked to (possibly) refer to Guevara. Some were later written out, but there are still some lines such as when Eva says “So go if you’re able to somewhere unstable. Whip up your hate in some tottering state but not here, dear. Is that clear, dear?” There is no evidence that Eva and Guevara ever met. Argentina remained under right-wing and/or military dictatorships for some time.
Ernesto Lynch??
Wasn’t his real name Ernesto Guevara de La Serna?
I never heard anyone mentioning the surname Lynch.
i think i remember Lynch. I read it in a Newsweek article circa 2003
Actually his full name was Ernesto Guevara de la Serna Lynch.
But anyway, all Spanish-speaking people use their first surname, in this case Guevara. Hence Ernesto Guevara (not Ernesto Lynch).
Calm down Dolly, you can’t change it.
Are you angry because your surnames are López Rodríguez without a British surname? Envidiosa
Actually Palrão is right his full name would have been Ernesto Guevara de La Serna. Guevara being his fathers name and de La Serna his mothers. Lynch was his fathers second last name. Thats how it works in South America you get your dads (first) last name and your moms (first) last name. So Lynch was never his last name
I find it amusing how his image is so adored by the left. Do they realize what a filthy murdering thug he was? His picture hung on the wall of the Houston campaign headquarters of US’s great Marxist leader. Show’s what he’s really made of. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=56293
Here’s a nice demotivational picture
“IRONY – You spend your whole life combating the forces of capitalism, only to end up on a t-shirt sold at the Gap”
http://www.motivatedphotos.com/?id=2736
Cute facts.. there is a better list called in spanish ’10 shots to the Che’.
Alan Jimenez, with the same reasoning you used to justify his murders we can justify the ultra-right militar dictatorships supposedly backed by the US..hunting, j ailing, torturing and executing communists was right because it was a war and anyways if they let the commies take power they would be going to hunt, jail, torture and execute their opositors once they succeed.
These maleable morals are common in the left; now that the left is in control in my country they tend to justify every action – specially corruption – because past governments did… this is all predicted by the protocols of zion.
The dude that protested the disrespect to che guevara shows that communism is not far from a form of stupid religion… wake up, its 21 century and no one is sacred, we mock everyone we want… ***** emo che!.
24. LordCalvert : You are retarded. I’m not going to put it nicely, I’m *****ing sick of people ragging on Obama. How the ***** is what he is doing “Marxist” or even unreasonable?
N.B. Because the Republicans say so won’t cut it.
His full name was Ernesto Guevara Lynch de La Serna.
He was a big admirer of the Irish war of Independence and the urban and rural guerrilla tactics developed by the IRA.
Pic 2 was drawn by an Irish artist Jim Fitzpatrick. He never copyrighted the work and missed out on a million’s. Incidental Jim Fitzpatrick also did the art work on the Thin Lizzy albums.
http://www.jimfitzpatrick.ie/gallery/index.html
No. Let me explain this to you. His father was Ernesto – Guevara – Lynch, his mother was Celia – de la Serna y Llosa. The Che’s name was Ernesto – Guevara – de la Serna – Lynch – y Llosa.
26. Mark: I’m not going to begin my comments with a personal insult. While perhaps obama is not a Marxist in the strictest sense of the word, he is definately an anti-capitalist. That can be plainly seen in his attitude and actions. The fact that he’s using government intervention as a solution to pretty much any problem he’s encountered is pretty telling. That and the fact that Marxist/socialist/communist gruops all over the world had collective orgasms when obama was elected pretty much turns my stomach.
27. LordCalvert : Lol. Do you know how the US Economy works? Quick rundown for you :
No government intervention = financial/auto industry mega *****ed = no jobs = even bigger downturn = aww *****, we should’ve just taken some national debt. Oh well, at least we didn’t do anything that could be perceived as slightly Socialist. Yay!
Government intervention is key in lessening this recession, Australia also has a Social Liberal government in power and we are in one of the best economic positions in the world as we speak. Every government in the entire developed world is intervening, stimulus is flying left, right and center. Why am I not suprised that the vast majority of *****ing that I hear is coming from Conservative Americans?
“There is not a single example of a Marxist state which is better for the people than a democratic one. Marxist principles have led to utter disaster everywhere they ends up.”
If by “better off” you mean “access to *****ography” then yes, Cuba has been an unmitigated disaster. On other indices like health, sanitation, literacy rates, infant mortality and crime, it has done rather better than the “democratic” states it is surrounded by:
http://www.hellocuba.ca/compare.php
@ 14 “regardless of what Michael Moore tries to portray in his propaganda movies” I don’t think Mike was trying to portray Cuba as an all around Super Stable nation; just trying to show even in a country so impoverished with so many other problems they still manage to have better health care than the U.S.
Some of this stuff begs to have sources listed.
@LordCavert, you began comment 24 with an insult.
“I find it amusing how his image is so adored by the left. Do they realize what a filthy murdering thug he was?”
It was just rather subtle. Isn’t it crazy that the supposedly awful and 3rd world nation of Cuba has been able to get along so easily despite its poverty? I mean if its really that bad living there, as certain Americans make it out to be, then they should have had another revolution by now, or at least an attempted coup. Nope, by the sounds of things I’d say they at least have a half-decent life there.
What I find astonishing as well is the fact that he loved his rolex (as seen in this image: http://media.photobucket.com/image/rolex%20che/Frank117/Che20Guevara-ministro20dellindustri.jpg)
doesn’t seem to fit his rebel-for-the-poor image…
deeeziner comment #16) I’m from the US also, and the marketing of Che is not as huge as say, the current trendy pop star, but I see high school and college students wearing the image from #2 on the list fairly often. Also you’ll occasionally see posters sold for dorm rooms, etc. It has a cool look to it, but I’m not sure they actually get what Guevara was all about.
Knew I didn’t like the look of him.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrenology
“Untrustworthy hedge hog licker.”
Not my words.
comment #26 from Mark “You are retarded. I’m not going to put it nicely,…” I think a better argument would not include the insult. I keep hoping for the day when the term “Retard” is thought of as just as offensive as any racist terms. It’s unfortunate that if you must insult, you couldn’t use alternative terms like dumb, ignorant, idiot, stupid, etc. obviously there’s plenty of other options.
I hope you never have a child or relative with developmental disabilities. I’ve worked with them for almost 20 years in different capacities. It’s amazing how much they will change your life. How much you would love them. If you could spend any significant amount of time with them you’d understand why I feel so offended by the language.
By the way, some of the people I care for, were born with normal intelligence and through accidents or illnesses became mentally disabled. It could happen to any of us.
“Contrary to the image we all have of Guevara, in his youth he was quite the geek. He loved playing Chess and even entered local tournaments. In between hanging out with his chess buddies, Ernesto would read poetry which he loved with a passion.”
Maybe if you took a similar interest in intellectual pursuits then this list wouldn’t be so badly written. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no fan of Che Guevara, but this is one of the worst lists I’ve seen on here in a while.
Cool list…
It always bugs me when I hear people calling el Che a freedom fighter or some such nonsense. He was a guerillero and cold-blooded murderer. It´s like the MRTA here in Peru. They claim to do a lot of things in the name of social justice and equality but in the end, all they do is kill A LOT of innocent people.
And you know what bugs me the most? People who live in countries that have NEVER had this sort of situation, who have never lived in fear of terrorist bombings, who have not had to read daily accounts of massacres, who have not been denied milk as children because there is a shortage… These are the people who support Che, who think he was some sort of hero, who buy t-shirts and bumper stickers with his face because apparently it´s “cool.” Idiots.
HIS NAME IS NOT ERNESTO LYNCH.
His name is Ernesto Guevara, born to Celia de la Serna and Ernesto Guevara Lynch. His full name would then be “Ernesto Guevara de la Serna Lynch” and so on, but so what.
Also, he was proud of the fact that he was stinky and wore a weekly shirt, but that was back when he was a kid. Again, so what.
The “Emo” thing is just uncalled for. So by your reasoning, all geeks are also emos? Riiiight.
And I’m sorry, jfrater, but Batista was a dictator. He staged a coup to seize power of Cuba, not once, but TWICE. As with all non-bloodless coups, he too surely ordered the murders of many, including his political opponents, of course. So it’s not like “the democrats taking over the republican government”, AT ALL.
And as with all dictatorships, there were both good things and bad things, supporters and opposition. The people didn’t support him, but the unions, the mafia, and the U.S. did, so it’s not as simple as you picture it.
Che led the cuban revolution, not the communist country that followed. So he is not to blame for how crappy the country became afterwards.
Here’s something to think about- why is it that African Americans are the go to group if you want to know about the legacy of slavery, the Jews for the Holocaust, Native Americans for their story, etc, etc, but in the case of the tragedy of Castro’s revolution it is the dictator’s propaganda and not the victims who own the story.
First of all, pre-1959 Cuba was a first world nation, not the backward country it is today. If you take the time to look up the records from then, you would find: Cuba under Battista–Cuba in 1957–was a developed country. Cuba in 1957 had lower infant mortality than France, Belgium, West Germany, Israel, Japan, Austria, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. Cuba in 1957 had doctors and nurses: as many doctors and nurses per capita as the Netherlands, and more than Britain or Finland. Cuba in 1957 had as many vehicles per capita as Uruguay, Italy, or Portugal. Cuba in 1957 had 45 TVs per 1000 people–fifth highest in the world. Cuba today has fewer telephones per capita than it had TVs in 1957.
You take a look at the standard Human Development Indicator variables–GDP per capita, infant mortality, education–and you try to throw together an HDI for Cuba in the late 1950s, and you come out in the range of Japan, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Israel. Today? Today the UN puts Cuba’s HDI in the range of Lithuania, Trinidad, and Mexico. And that’s using current stats that are seriously flawed due to Cuba padding them to make them look better.
Yes, Cuba today has a GDP per capita level roughly that of–is “comparably developed”–Bolivia or Honduras or Zimbabwe, but given where Cuba was in 1957 we ought to be talking about how it is as developed as Italy or Spain. And the only real stat that matters is the fact that Cubans vote with their feet, which is the only free choice they’ve had since 1959, they leave, by any means possible preferring the shark infested waters of the Florida Strait to Castro’s island gulag. More than 111,000 Cubans reached the US and became legal residents in the years 2005-2007 alone. There has never been a Marxist led country that produced anything of value. The communist legacy is one of death and human misery.
El Che is a really tough topic to understand. Mostly, because most of the people commenting on this list made little research prior to the writing. I’m from Argentina, and I know pretty well the work of El Che. Also, I understand that to some people, El Che is a despicable character. But much more historical research needed to be done in order to paint the whole picture. I am simpathetic to most of the ideals of El Che, but I disagree on the methods to enforce such ideals.
@37: I was a boy in the ’70s, when the last military government. I almost lost my father for the f**cking milicos. I know terror. Your country, as well as mine, had sufferd too much. It is time to heal the wounds, but not to forget anything.
If you don’t think el che, known to Cubans as the butcher of la Cabana wasn’t responsible for communist Cuba, then you need to read your history. 1. Che was responsible for the execution of thousands of political prisoners in Cuba (most of them purely for their opposition to Castro’s communist policies or for no reason at all).
2. Che enjoyed torturing and abusing the prisoners, including children.
3. Che was instrumental in setting up the Castro regime’s massive forced labor camps and secret police apparatus.
4. Che tried to organize campaigns of terrorism against civilians in the US and elsewhere (though he largely failed in these efforts).
5. Far from being merely a Third World nationalist or pragmatic leftist, he was a committed, hard-line Stalinist, even going so far as to call himself “Stalin II” early in his career.
What a guy. (sarcasm, here)
Torture, abuse and murder and people are defending him. Interesting list today. I did get a kick out of number 9…stinky che made me laugh.
Can you back that up?
13 and 14 jfrater, mmm very disappointing comments by the only person who is expected to be objective here
There is a pretty good movie that depicts the life of Che Guevara prior to becoming an activist
The movie is in Spanish with English subtitles
If you can understand Spanish you will enjoy it more
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0318462/
His name was
Ernesto Guevara de la Serna
His Father was Named Ernesto Guevara Lynch
The origins of his Irish ancestry come from his Grandmother
Ziva: What I meant to say was that Che was for the most part a military leader during the 5 years he was in Cuba after the revolution. After this he started touring the world and disappeared for a while. (Then he was murdered, of course).
1. Guevara was assigned to La Cabaña prison, where he ordered the trial and execution of hundreds of political prisoners and suspected traitors. Batista, on the other hand, had executed an estimated 20,000 Cubans during his regime, and this is why the trial processes of La Cabaña were supported by 93% of Cubans.
2. He enjoyed torturing prisoners, and children? Where did you get that from? How could children be political prisoners? If you have sources for these claims, please mention them.
3. Forced labor camps? Again, what are you talking about?
4. Guevara went to the UN in New York to denounce segregation, and started touring the world to talk about revolutionary ideals. He never plotted or executed any campaigns of terrorism against any country during this time.
5. Guevara signed a few letters to his relatives as “Stalin II”, but he didn’t really call himself that, at least not in public.
Hi. I great list of things I didn’t know about Che – I didn’t know any of ‘em! In fact I know absolutely nothing about this character at all, but it seems from reading all your thoughtful comments that he was a bit of a rogue; a loose cannon?. From what I can gather, he stood up for what he believed and made a difference – a very BIG difference – and I hope that is what all the iconography is all about.
murderer. only people with a passing acquaintance with history would think of him as a hero.
On a lighter note – say I wanted to know more about Che… Has anyone see the latest two-part movie about him? I think they were called Che – Parts 1 and 2. What I want to know is… dispite the obvious limitations of movies, are these films worth seeing – and if so how accurate are they?
Let’s say, just for fun: everybody who wants to trash talk Che and pre-revolution Cuba, please just mention what country you are from. Just for the fun of it.
Love the amount of disinformation here: there is really a lot of it being thrown around… but hey… internet!
If you want a better criticism of Che, try the fact that he was an extremely bad combat tactician. That’s an established fact.
Most of the -basically slander- you guys are spewing would come word for word, proudly, from a nice cold war propaganda text book. And my previous sentence shows- because being a horrible tactician as a military leader is one of the most damning criticisms you can think of- I’m not facing this with a ‘pro-Che’ agenda.
Hi, please follow with what actual texts you’ve read on the subject. I can, you’ve just shared antecedotes- alot about Cuba as well- that anyone with some critical *****ysis and a few university studies can refute.
He played rugby in his youth, he was a scrum half.
After hie execution
his*?
@ Alan Jimenez: Oh dear. I think someone is a little bit confused as to what a soldier is. However, I’m willing to let this one go down to perspective.
#8 he looks exactly like Prince! LOL
Che was a murderer not because he was a soldier, because in that aspect he was a wimp … never wanting to fight anyone who had a fair shot (often “dissapeared” during many battles) … but because he loved putting thousands of men, women and children to death by firing squad or shooting them himself. Mostly these people posed no threat to the revolution and most of this was done after the revolutionary government had been established and secured. People were executed merely for either being enlisted in the army or police force of the old regime or because they had opposing views. There also were no trials or mock trials like those in the USSR where the verdict was decided long before. Also Che is quoted to say things like, “Crazy with fury I will stain my rifle red while slaughtering any enemy that falls in my hands! My nostrils dilate while savoring the acrid odor of gunpowder and blood.” and “I’d like to confess, Papa, at that moment [after executing a fellow revolutionary], I discovered that I really like killing.” Also lets keep in mind Fidel and Che only succeeded because they promised democracy and freedom for Cuba but betrayed them and deceived them in their moment of crises only to rise to power themselves and establish their own and worse Totalitarian style dictatorship that resulted in the oppression and impoverishment of the Cuban people and deaths of hundreds of thousands….also #5 is an example of his two-face tendencies. He stated that blacks were nothing but dirty little monkeys that needed their tails cut off and to be thrown in the jungle with the rest of the animals. Also over 80% of the Cuban prison population are black and there are practically no blacks in the government agencies….which is a reversal of the previous government especially considering Batista was half-black
I seriously don’t know why people call him a murderer, an evil manipulator, blah blah this tha. Can someone give me 1 single reason why is he (to be considered) bad.
Good list, but I feel ignorant because I had never heard of him before reading it. I had to check out wiki to get his life story.
Xanthius, I´m sorry to difer with your 10 point. His name was Ernesto Guevara Lynch. Lynch was actually his father´s second last name.