Forty years after the death of Ernesto "Che" Guevara, the turbulent life of Cuba's revolutionary hero continues to inspire films and books, while his stoic image and self-sacrifice have become iconic for leftists worldwide.
His legacy remains as vivid today in communist-ruled Cuba as it was, with schoolchildren still instructed to pledge each morning that: "Pioneers for communism, we will be like Che."
An Alberto Korda photograph taken in 1960 of a defiant-looking Guevara, his long, dark hair flying from beneath a beret, is considered one of the best known photos in the world and a classic image of the 20th century.
On Oct. 8, 1967, the Bolivian army and two Cuban-American CIA agents captured Che in the village of La Higuera, Bolivia, where he had been leading a clutch of rebels who survived clashes, hunger and illness.
Che was taken to an abandoned school and the following afternoon he was summarily executed by Bolivian sergeant Mario Teran. He was 39.
The Argentine-born Cuban hero will be given anniversary honors in the small city of Santa Clara, Cuba where he led a key battle of the Cuban Revolution and where a mausoleum has held his remains since 1997.
In Cuba, ailing leader Fidel Castro, 81, was not expected to be seen at the commemorations of Che's death. Interim president Raul Castro, leading Cuba since his brother's intestinal surgery over a year ago, and who was said not to be as close to Che, could fill in for Fidel.
In Bolivia, a ceremony is also planned with marchers expected to trudge through the night and light a tribute flame for Che in La Higuera on Oct. 7. In neighboring Villagrande, where his remains were found in 1997, a political-themed ceremony is set for Monday.
Evo Morales, the Andean nation's first ethnic indigenous president and a close ally of Fidel Castro, is effusive in his praise for the Argentine-born doctor by training, free spirit and socialist inspiration.
In President Hugo Chavez's Venezuela and President Daniel Ortega's Nicaragua, Che's image is also something of an unofficial icon.
After years of waning attention, Che's revolutionary mythology was aggressively revived in 1997 with the discovery of his remains amid some controversy, and then their dispatch to Cuba -- in the midst of severe economic hardship -- by Fidel Castro's government.
The remains were paraded amid great fanfare through Havana streets before being interred in Santa Clara with Fidel Castro looking on.
Some critical analysts said Cuba used the events to distract from economic problems at home. Other more sympathetic observers noted that whatever the motivating factors or timing, the communist government often spotlights Che's symbolic legacy as self-sacrificing to appeal to Cubans to endure hardship.
Archeologists in Peru on Thursday said they found the 5,000-year-old remains of a noblewoman at the sacred city of Caral, revealing the important role played by women in the oldest center of civilization in the Americas. “What has been discovered corresponds to a woman who apparently had elevated status, an elite woman,” archeologist David Palomino said. The mummy was found in Aspero, a sacred site within the city of Caral that was a garbage dump for more than 30 years until becoming an archeological site in the 1990s. Palomino said the carefully preserved remains, dating to 3,000BC, contained skin, part of the
‘WATER WARFARE’: A Pakistani official called India’s suspension of a 65-year-old treaty on the sharing of waters from the Indus River ‘a cowardly, illegal move’ Pakistan yesterday canceled visas for Indian nationals, closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or operated airlines, and suspended all trade with India, including to and from any third country. The retaliatory measures follow India’s decision to suspend visas for Pakistani nationals in the aftermath of a deadly attack by shooters in Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. The rare attack on civilians shocked and outraged India and prompted calls for action against their country’s archenemy, Pakistan. New Delhi did not publicly produce evidence connecting the attack to its neighbor, but said it had “cross-border” links to Pakistan. Pakistan denied any connection to
TRUMP EFFECT: The win capped one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Canadian political history after the Conservatives had led the Liberals by more than 20 points Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday pledged to win US President Donald Trump’s trade war after winning Canada’s election and leading his Liberal Party to another term in power. Following a campaign dominated by Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats, Carney promised to chart “a new path forward” in a world “fundamentally changed” by a US that is newly hostile to free trade. “We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons,” said Carney, who led the central banks of Canada and the UK before entering politics earlier this year. “We will win this trade war and
Armed with 4,000 eggs and a truckload of sugar and cream, French pastry chefs on Wednesday completed a 121.8m-long strawberry cake that they have claimed is the world’s longest ever made. Youssef El Gatou brought together 20 chefs to make the 1.2 tonne masterpiece that took a week to complete and was set out on tables in an ice rink in the Paris suburb town of Argenteuil for residents to inspect. The effort overtook a 100.48m-long strawberry cake made in the Italian town of San Mauro Torinese in 2019. El Gatou’s cake also used 350kg of strawberries, 150kg of sugar and 415kg of
RSS