Ernesto Guevara
Che Guevara's iconic image
Born	Ernesto Guevara ( 1928-06-14 ) June 14, 1928 Rosario , Santa Fe , Argentina
Died	October 9, 1967 (1967-10-09) (aged 39) La Higuera , Vallegrande , Bolivia

Ernesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or Che (June 14, 1928 - October 9, 1967) ^[1] was an Argentine Marxist , revolutionary , physician, author, guerrilla , diplomat, and military theorist. He is popular with socialists . In addition to that he was a writer and some of his articles and speeches were even published.

Time magazine said he was one of the most influential people of the 20th century . ^[2] Guerrillero Heroico, a picture of him, is called "the most famous photograph in the world." ^[3]

Biography [ change | change source ]

Che Guevara was born in Rosario , Argentina in 1928. ^[1] He studied at the University of Buenos Aires . He wanted to be a doctor. During his holidays , he traveled. He saw how poor some people were. He thought that revolution could fix it.

After college , he went to Mexico . He met Fidel Castro there in 1954. Castro was planning a rebellion in Cuba . Guevara joined Castro. He fought with Castro in Cuba. In 1959, Fidel won and became president of Cuba. Fidel and Guevara declared Cuba a communist country. Guevara was made head of Cuba's bank. He later became Minister of Industry. ^[1] In 1965, Guevara helped to start other revolutions. They were in Congo-Kinshasa and Bolivia . In 1967, he was captured and executed by Bolivian soldiers. His body was not found until 1997. His nickname among friends was "Chegi Vara".

Che in popular culture [ change | change source ]

People have different opinions on Che Guevara. Some see him as a good leader. In addition to that he was an excellent writer and some of his articles and speeches were even published. ^[4] Others see him as a bad man who wanted to hurt people. ^[1] A black and white image of Guevara's face is one of the most merchandized images. ^[5] It can be found on many items. They include t-shirts , hats , posters , and other items. ^[6] The image was based on a photograph by Alberto Korda Diaz. Diaz was a Cuban photographer. It was taken in 1960. ^[6]

Guevara is still an important person. ^[7] He is seen as an example of youthful rebellion . ^[8]

A movie , ''The Motorcycle Diaries'' , is about Che. It describes a trip that he took through South America. The trip took place in the 1950s. The movie was directed by Walter Salles . It was produced by Robert Redford . ^[9]

References [ change | change source ]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Che Guevara .

Other websites [ change | change source ]

• BBC News (January 17, 2001). " Profile: Laurent Kabila ^{[ permanent dead link ]} ". Accessed April 10, 2008.
• BBC News (May 26, 2001). Che Guevara photographer dies . Accessed January 4, 2006.
• BBC News (October 9, 2007). " Cuba pays tribute to Che Guevara ". BBC News, International version .
• Lacey, Mark (October 26, 2007). " Lone Bidder Buys Strands of Che's Hair at U.S. Auction ". New York Times .
• Lacey, Mark (October 9, 2007). " A Revolutionary Icon, and Now, a Bikini ". The New York Times .
• O'Hagan, Sean (July 11, 2004). " Just a pretty face? ". The Guardian . Accessed October 25, 2006.