Sure, Che’s handsome face emblazons t-shirts, belt buckles, bookbags, and tattooed arms and chests the world over, but what do you REALLY know about Che?
Check out these 11 facts to see how solid your knowledge of the man behind the iconic image is:
1) Che was not Cuban. He was born in the city of Rosario, Argentina and he never naturalized as a Cuban.
2) Che’s real name?. Ernesto Guevara Lynch.
3) Che was a dentist by trade. (Better looking than any dentist I’ve ever had!). Some sources contend, however, that Che never finished his degree.
4) Che did not have any official military training.
5) Che was introduced to Fidel Castro in Mexico in 1955. Che lived for awhile at 40 Napoles Street in Mexico City, which happens to be right around the corner from where I live.
6) Che Guevara has five children. While living at 40 Napoles, Che learned that his first wife, Hilda Gadea, was pregnant with their daughter, who was born in Mexico City on February 15, 1956. Che had four children with his second wife, the revolutionary Aleida March.
7) Che came to the U.S once to speak at the U.N in 1964. Here’s part of his speech:
8 ) The famous photograph of Che that would turn him into a revolutionary icon was taken by the Cuban photographer Alberto Korda on March 5, 1960. This photograph is the most widely reproduced picture in the world and in the history of photography.
9) Che led Cuba’s troops in African independence movements in the 1960s.
10) Che was wounded in combat in Bolivia and later killed in October 8, 1967.
11) Che’s famous photograph first appeared worldwide 7 years after his death. It wasn’t until 2000, however, that the image began to be reproduced at an unprecedented rate, appearing on t-shirts, coffee mugs, watches, hats, and even in snow globes.
Feature photo: Franco Folini (creative commons)
Postcard photo: Dr John2005 (creative commons)
Photo: bartpogoda (creative commons)
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#12 Che was a despotic communist murderer who sought revolution for personal power. His political philosophy, put into action, has brought poverty and desperation to untold millions. His admirers tend to be ignorant teenagers, very old hippies, and brainwashed college students.
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“For the greatest enemy of the truth is very often not the lie, deliberate, contrived, and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, pervasive, and unrealistic.” JFK, Yale, 11 June 1962
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That's a great JFK quote, but was Che really as bad as he's made out to be by some? All of Latin American history needs the lense of colonialism – the people who killed Che are the ancestors of the people who enslaved and killed off the native population.
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brainwashed? by who? their liberal professors? surely not Fox.
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11 facts about Che don't necessarily mean that his ideology or his work are being endorsed. Why do some of you find information threatening and feel the need to respond sarcastically and hyperbolically?
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#13 While working for Castro, Che was personally responsible for the execution of hundreds – possibly thousands – of "subversives" and "non-conformists" whose only crimes were disagreement with the regime. Quite sad how "ironic" this murderer has become, propped up by musicians and hollywood types who are simply ignorant to the truth.
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"Iconic," that is. I suppose it is also ironic.
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Yeah. If you are looking for a 20th century revolutionary leader Ghandi(s) are your best best. The dhali lama is your second, he did not win. Che was a real bastard. If he lived long enough he may have killed everyone around him for not being pure enoughin ideological terms. He would have been great friends with tojo.
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Julie are you sure you're not the one that finds truthful information about your icon threatening? Che personally executed hundreds with out due process, he was a sociopathic killer. On his own Che was a failure, nothing more than a simple pawn used and thrown out by Castro. Che should be remembered for what he was – a mass murderer. …and I'm about as ANTI box o rocks Bush / ANTI Fox News as you can get.
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The Che I knew (his friends called him "Ch") was a lousy tipper and had awful table manners. He would always mess up the punchlines to jokes, and he had this thing about cat hair being on him. He just hated it. But GOD that man could skate! I've never seen a more graceful human being on two blades on a sheet of ice…
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2. Ernesto Guevara de la Serna (not Lynch) 3. Doctor (not dentist) as for the above comments, in the period in charge of La Cabaña (Jan to June 1959) he definately was either directly or indirectly responsible for the deaths of many many political/ idealogical opponents. No defense for that, however, I'm afraid much as the western world may not understand, or like it, ask a cuban how much popular support in the country there was at the time for a revolution, and for the executions. I've been told up to 90% by people who have lived through it. …
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An idealist, not a politician, he was a failure at many things, minister for industry, head of the banking system, but as aforementioned, he was a doctor, so you have to cut him some slack. Look at literacy rates after the revolution, and employment. (admittedly probably not che's ideas but the idea that the country somehow got worse is a myth bigger than that of his iconic status don't you think?) His biggest mistake was trying to incite a revolution in a country where he couldn't garner popular support. …
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Nobody is perfect, but I wouldn't go so far as to call him a bastard. And as for quoting JFK, quoting the human opposite of Che doesn't prove either of them is more 'correct' than the other, it just demonstrates how much they disagreed. As a symbol for harsh idealism and for revolution *each with the popular support of an opressed people*, Che is a useful historical Idol. Stuart
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How can anyone who knows of Che not know these basic facts? Do people think revolutionaries are hatched from eggs? From Saddam to Ghandi, there’s rich history in these people’s lives. If you don’t learn it, you end up like Odkin, parroting David Horowitz talking points that address t-shirts instead of actual history.
I am liberal and believe in Eugene V Debs and Emma Goldman, and the Dalai Lama is one of the few enlightened uncorrupted leaders in my eyes. I’m not a pacifist however. I believe violence is the answer sometimes. One day it won;t be, but it is at present. It’s not a rare viewpoint to hold. Among the company that keeps these view points are despots such as the American military forces, and also those who are defenders of the oppressed and enslaved, such as American military forces.
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Che was a revolutionary with the right ideals: someone following their conscience to unnecessarily sacrifice themself to try and balance the great inequalities they saw in society.
In that way he can be compared to the biblical Jesus Christ, and if he’d died trying to depose Somosa that comparison would have been all the stronger.
But as he lived through his victorious revolution he had to try and adapt to new roles that he wasn’t suited for, and his weaknesses became apparent.
I think the real Che is somewhere between the very positive and very negative myths…
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I once saw a 60-dollar Che Guevara onsie in a baby boutique in Park Slope, Brooklyn. I wanted to get it just to hang on the wall as ironic artwork.
What a great article, Julie. These are the sorts of things that make iconic history seem alive to me.
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HE IS TO WHAT DAVY CROCKETT AND JIM BOWIE WAS TO THE ALAMO, HE WAS TO CUBA AND AND TRIED TO BE TO BOLIVA, HE IS THE ICON OF THE REVOLUTION MADE INTO THAT FIGURE BY FIDEL ,TAKING THE SPOTLIGHT OFF HIMSELF AND MAKING CHE THE HERO LET CASRTO BECOME THE CONTROLLING FIGURE THAT HE IS!
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Well, that quote certainly applies to…JFK.
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“Che is an inspiration for every human being who loves freedom, we will always honor his memory.” — NELSON MANDELA
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