Che Guevara: A New Man

Che Guevara, the famous revolutionary, was born 85 years ago today. He is often described as “the linchpin of the resurgence movement in the countries of Latin America,” and is credited with forming the notion of a “new man.”

Che Guevara inherited from his mother not only royal blood, but also a hereditary illness – he suffered from asthma throughout his life. After the first attack at the age of two, doctors advised his mother to take the child to the mountains, where Guevara then spent his childhood. However, his asthma never left him.

El Comandante Che won a number of resounding victories over the government forces in Cuba. The most significant of them took place in the Battle of Santa Clara, a major strategic point near Havana. The battle, which started on December 28, 1958, ended with the city’s capture, which ensured the overall victory of the Cuban Revolution.

In 1967, Che Guevara and his troops went to Bolivia to set up a guerrilla movement there. But on October 8 he was wounded and taken captive by CIA-trained Bolivian special armed forces. The day after his interrogation, Guevara was shot in the small village of La Higuera. His grave near an airstrip was not discovered until June 1997. Che Guevara’s remains were reburied in the mausoleum in the Cuban city of Santa Clara.

Time magazine named Che Guevara one of 20 heroes and icons and one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century.

Che Guevara on Red Square in Moscow, 1964.

Ernesto Che Guevara with Yury Gagarin, the first man in space. Photo reproduction, November 1964.

“Ernesto is an example of a person that shows that anyone can be like him, if they want and if they have enough will power. You don’t need to be a superhuman to give yourself to the cause of others,” – says Argentinian director Jorge Denti, who made a movie about Guevara.