A hero with revolutionary ideas
A hero with revolutionary ideas
Ernesto Rafael Guevara de la Serna, most commonly known as Che Guevara or el Che, was an Argentine-born Marxist revolutionary and Cuban guerrilla leader.
He was born on June 14, 1928 in Rosario, Argentina, but growing up, he suffered from asthma problems. At the doctor’s request, Guevara’s family decides to move to Alta Gracia in 1932.
Though he had asthma problems, he excelled as an athlete. He was an avid rugby player and earned the nickname "Fuser" (El Furibundo Serna) for his aggressive style of play.
In December 1947, Guevara enrolled in the Medical Faculty of the University of Buenos Aires and graduated as a doctor on July 6, 1953.
In 1951, Guevara's friend, Alberto Granado, a biochemist and a political radical, suggested that Guevara take a year off from his medical studies to embark on a trip they had talked about doing for years — traversing South America.
Guevara and Granado, 29, soon left their hometown of Alta Gracia, riding a 1939 Norton 500 cc motorcycle nicknamed “La Poderosa II,” with the idea of spending a few weeks volunteering at the San Pablo leper colony, which sat along the banks of the Amazon River in Peru. Guevara wrote of his experience in a journal. The firsthand account was translated in English in 1996 and part of his journal was produced as a movie, "The Motorcycle Diaries," in 2004.
Through his firsthand observations of poverty and powerlessness of the masses, Guevara decided that the only remedy for Latin America's economic and social inequities lay in revolution. His travels inspired him to look at Latin America not as a collection of separate nations but as a single cultural and economic entity. He began to develop his concept of a united Ibero-America without borders, bound together by a common 'mestizo' culture, an idea that would figure prominently in his later revolutionary activities.
Upon his return to Argentina, he completed his medical studies with plans to return to his travels around South America.
Following his graduation from the University of Buenos Aires medical school in 1953, Guevara went to Guatemala, where President Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán headed a left-populist government that, through various reforms, particularly land reform, was attempting to bring about a social revolution. Around this time, Guevara also acquired his famous nickname, "Che", due to his Argentine roots.
Che is a Spanish interjection used commonly in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, some parts of Bolivia, Costa Rica and in the Portuguese of the south of Brazil. It is an exclamation, often used to get attention or express surprise. It’s comparable to English phrases, such as "hey you!". The term, “Che,” it’s also used to mean "friend.”
Guevara would eventually meet Fidel Castro and Fidel's brother, Raúl, in Mexico City where the two sought refuge after being exiled from Cuba. The Castro brothers were preparing to return to Cuba with an expeditionary force in an attempt to overthrow General Fulgencio Batista, who had assumed dictatorial powers.
Guevara was a member of Fidel Castro's "26th of July Movement" that seized power in Cuba in 1959.
At the time, Guevara was quoted as saying, “The ideal communist society is not possible unless the people first evolve into a 'new man' (el hombre nuevo)....”
As a government official, Guevara tried to serve as an example of that "new man" (el hombre nuevo). He regularly volunteered his time on the weekend and evenings in places like ship yards, textile factories or sugarcane fields. He believed that sacrifice and dedication was necessary to achieve true communism through the socialist society.
Guevara also was known for his austerity and simple lifestyle. For example, he refused an increase in pay as a government official. He disliked luxury.
Once, on a trip to Russia, Guevara was dining with high-ranking officials from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, when the group's food was served to them on expensive China. Guevara reacted by asking the Russians, "Is this how the proletariat lives in Russia?"
After serving in various posts in the new government, Guevara left Cuba in 1965 with the hope of fomenting revolutions in other countries, first in the Congo-Kinshasa (currently the Democratic Republic of the Congo) and later in Bolivia, where he was captured in a CIA-organized military operation.
It is believed by some that the CIA wanted Guevara for interrogation, but, after his capture in the Yuro ravine, he died at the hands of the Bolivian Army in La Higuera near Vallegrande on Oct. 9, 1967.
After his death, Guevara became a hero of Third World communist revolutionary movements, as a theorist and tactician of asymmetric warfare. He also became a popular icon for revolution and left-wing political ideals in western culture and throughout much of the world.
Sources: Cuba-Che.com & Wikipedia
Today’s lesson:
1.- Che Guevara’s full name is _____________________
2.- Che Guevara was born in_________________ on ______________
3.- He graduated from ________________ as a _________
4.- Che Guevara wrote about his Latin American travels and experiences in a journal. The journal was translated in _________ in _______ and part of his firsthand account was produced as a movie called _____________ in ______.
5.- Che Guevara died in________________ on ____________________
Answers:
1.- Ernesto Rafael Guevara de la Serna.
2.- Rosario, Argentina. June 14, 1928.
3.- University of Buenos Aires medical school. Doctor.
4.- English. 1996. “The Motorcycle Diaries.” 2004.
5.- La Higuera, near Vallegrande. October 9, 1967.
He was born on June 14, 1928 in Rosario, Argentina, but growing up, he suffered from asthma problems. At the doctor’s request, Guevara’s family decides to move to Alta Gracia in 1932.
Though he had asthma problems, he excelled as an athlete. He was an avid rugby player and earned the nickname "Fuser" (El Furibundo Serna) for his aggressive style of play.
In December 1947, Guevara enrolled in the Medical Faculty of the University of Buenos Aires and graduated as a doctor on July 6, 1953.
In 1951, Guevara's friend, Alberto Granado, a biochemist and a political radical, suggested that Guevara take a year off from his medical studies to embark on a trip they had talked about doing for years — traversing South America.
Guevara and Granado, 29, soon left their hometown of Alta Gracia, riding a 1939 Norton 500 cc motorcycle nicknamed “La Poderosa II,” with the idea of spending a few weeks volunteering at the San Pablo leper colony, which sat along the banks of the Amazon River in Peru. Guevara wrote of his experience in a journal. The firsthand account was translated in English in 1996 and part of his journal was produced as a movie, "The Motorcycle Diaries," in 2004.
Through his firsthand observations of poverty and powerlessness of the masses, Guevara decided that the only remedy for Latin America's economic and social inequities lay in revolution. His travels inspired him to look at Latin America not as a collection of separate nations but as a single cultural and economic entity. He began to develop his concept of a united Ibero-America without borders, bound together by a common 'mestizo' culture, an idea that would figure prominently in his later revolutionary activities.
Upon his return to Argentina, he completed his medical studies with plans to return to his travels around South America.
Following his graduation from the University of Buenos Aires medical school in 1953, Guevara went to Guatemala, where President Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán headed a left-populist government that, through various reforms, particularly land reform, was attempting to bring about a social revolution. Around this time, Guevara also acquired his famous nickname, "Che", due to his Argentine roots.
Che is a Spanish interjection used commonly in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, some parts of Bolivia, Costa Rica and in the Portuguese of the south of Brazil. It is an exclamation, often used to get attention or express surprise. It’s comparable to English phrases, such as "hey you!". The term, “Che,” it’s also used to mean "friend.”
Guevara would eventually meet Fidel Castro and Fidel's brother, Raúl, in Mexico City where the two sought refuge after being exiled from Cuba. The Castro brothers were preparing to return to Cuba with an expeditionary force in an attempt to overthrow General Fulgencio Batista, who had assumed dictatorial powers.
Guevara was a member of Fidel Castro's "26th of July Movement" that seized power in Cuba in 1959.
At the time, Guevara was quoted as saying, “The ideal communist society is not possible unless the people first evolve into a 'new man' (el hombre nuevo)....”
As a government official, Guevara tried to serve as an example of that "new man" (el hombre nuevo). He regularly volunteered his time on the weekend and evenings in places like ship yards, textile factories or sugarcane fields. He believed that sacrifice and dedication was necessary to achieve true communism through the socialist society.
Guevara also was known for his austerity and simple lifestyle. For example, he refused an increase in pay as a government official. He disliked luxury.
Once, on a trip to Russia, Guevara was dining with high-ranking officials from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, when the group's food was served to them on expensive China. Guevara reacted by asking the Russians, "Is this how the proletariat lives in Russia?"
After serving in various posts in the new government, Guevara left Cuba in 1965 with the hope of fomenting revolutions in other countries, first in the Congo-Kinshasa (currently the Democratic Republic of the Congo) and later in Bolivia, where he was captured in a CIA-organized military operation.
It is believed by some that the CIA wanted Guevara for interrogation, but, after his capture in the Yuro ravine, he died at the hands of the Bolivian Army in La Higuera near Vallegrande on Oct. 9, 1967.
After his death, Guevara became a hero of Third World communist revolutionary movements, as a theorist and tactician of asymmetric warfare. He also became a popular icon for revolution and left-wing political ideals in western culture and throughout much of the world.
Sources: Cuba-Che.com & Wikipedia
Today’s lesson:
1.- Che Guevara’s full name is _____________________
2.- Che Guevara was born in_________________ on ______________
3.- He graduated from ________________ as a _________
4.- Che Guevara wrote about his Latin American travels and experiences in a journal. The journal was translated in _________ in _______ and part of his firsthand account was produced as a movie called _____________ in ______.
5.- Che Guevara died in________________ on ____________________
Answers:
1.- Ernesto Rafael Guevara de la Serna.
2.- Rosario, Argentina. June 14, 1928.
3.- University of Buenos Aires medical school. Doctor.
4.- English. 1996. “The Motorcycle Diaries.” 2004.
5.- La Higuera, near Vallegrande. October 9, 1967.
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