Entrance
The Che Guevara Musum in Argentina is small and quaint, you van visit on a day trip from Cordoba. The actual city is called Alta Gracia, only an hour away from Cordoba, which houses the nice Che Guevara Museum. The other option is to go to the German community which is sort of in the same direction south-west of the city but you must come back to Cordoba first if you want to go there.
We would not want to allow the tourist to do both in the same day. Now would we? The German community Villa Gral Belgrano is past Alta Gracia. So you would be expected to go back to Cordoba and then drive again on the same road you were just on, only to go further this time. However nonsensical this may seem it is again, the Argentine way.
The German community founded in 1930 boasts the third largest Oktoberfest in the world after the one in Munich Germany. Incidentally the second largest one is in Brazil. Most people don’t realize how many millions of Germans emigrated to South America in the 19 and 20 centuries bringing their food and traditions with them. There wasn’t enough time to do both day trips but you can get an idea of what an Oktoberfest is like in south America.
Photo Credit: Emis – Waz
Now about the Argentine folk hero Che, he is much misunderstood in many parts of the world. A lot of people in various corners of the world have chosen to focus on different aspects of his character and career that overlook the more sinister sides of his political activities. He was born in Rosario in 1928 and Alta Gracia is the town of his childhood. The government bought the home that he grew up in and turned it into a museum. After studying medicine in Buenos Aires Che became a doctor.
The Che you know
While he was in Guatemala he was a witness to the overthrow of the socialist government of President Arbenz. This was achieved by an American backed military coup. He was revolted at what he observed and decided to join Fidel Castro’s movement who was at that time in Mexico. The year was 1954.
He was now a Marxist revolutionary. In 1956 he along with Castro arrived in Cuba with 80 others to attempt to overthrown the government of Fulgencio Batista. After almost being annihilated by the government they regrouped and gradually gained territory. Once they took land they redistributed it to the peasants.
This gained them the loyalty of the local people who assisted them and often joined their struggle. In the effort to stop them the government of Cuba tortured people to gain information which increased support for the revolutionaries. As time went by the revolutionaries gained strength and finally took over the country in 1959.
The Che You Don’t Know
In 1960, Che visited the Soviet Union and China. On his return he wrote two books about exporting revolutions to other countries in Latin America. He did serve as Minister for Industries (1961-65) under Castro but he wanted to continue the revolution where Castro wanted to consolidate power.
There is some evidence that he began to undermine Castro, once he found out, he had him removed from the Cuban government. Che resigned in 1965 and became a guerrilla leader in Bolivia. In 1967 Che was attempting to persuade tin miners living in poverty to join his revolutionary army.
He wasn’t too successful here because his guerrilla group had learned Quechua which was different from the language being spoken, Tupi-Guarani. It always pays to know who your audience is. He was captured, interrogated and then executed. The American CIA was very much involved in this sequence of events through Felix Rodriguez and David Morales. Rodriguez still has the Rolex watch he took from Che at the time.
The Front of the Museum
Che is a folk hero and part of the counter revolutionary movement. One of the things that I think about is what turned him into such a monster, look at the difference in pictures above. Many people neglect to say or acknowledge his responsibility for all of the deaths that he caused which indirectly leads to the hundreds of thousands of deaths. He personally ordered the deaths of thousands and even was reported to do the deed himself repeatedly. Castro ordered men to do his killing, Che killed with his bare hands. After his execution he was buried in Bolivia. Later his remains were rediscovered moved to Cuba with honours in a mausoleum in 1997.
Hold on a minute! He was wearing a Rolex when he was shot??? I wonder how many miner’s salaries pay for that?
It is sad that so many people, especially youngsters, gloss over Guevara’s darker activities and revere him as a saint. Thnaks for this post.
“However nonsensical this may seem it is again, the Argentine way.” yup, that’s us 🙂
Couldn’t agree more Ana, today’s youth dont know much about history. most people even think he is cuban when he is actually argentinian
Awesome! Not many people visit this part of Argentina. I grew up in a little town just past Villa General Belgrano!
Where are you living now Audrey?
I would agree with you Noga that he had some of the most revolutionary ideas of the 19th century.. but there is no denying that he was a murderer. Castro didn’t kill people himself.. Che did. I don’t think people should praise him for carrying out his revolutionary ideas in that manner.. Nowhere in the article did I state that Castro killed Che Guevara.
even in todays world ,where the word is truely ruled by rich and millions are suffering..being a doctor he knows the value of life than any one else..during his war against capitalists,he continued to render his services as a doctor to poor..change what he dreamed is ahead of his time and even my times…accidentally i read about this great man,who made me more sensible,and more human…thank you che…every day i remember you and your sacrifises….you lived like a lion…every individual who derives inspiration from you will become a lion..long live che
Are you serious? Your completely oblivious to the fact that he murdered and killed people by his own hands ” in the name of freedom”.. I admit that he did some great things but he by far a good man
Are you saying the people that he killed were more then the Muderous bastards that were taken out?
You think Che would be such a big thing with youth today if he wasn’t so handsome? That iconic image of him wearing the beret is really were most people learn about him. If he didn’t look so cool people might attach such an importance to him.
i have cuban notes 5,10,20 and 50 ,,signed by CHE GUEVARA,i got these notes in a trip to cuba in 1979 ,
I WONDER ABOUT THE VALUE OF THE MENTIONED NOTES NOWADAYS,,
IF ANYBODY HAS ANY IDEA ,PLEASE
Probably worth a lot of money Salec
Wandering trader what part of the USA r u from. The CIA with the tacit approval of the US government painted Che as a murderer. Just as the US generals r in the many wars they are involved in. Is Eisenhower a murderer?? Of course by your definition he is.
Che is a hero of the revolution and as he with Castro booted the many corrupt Americanos out of Cuba including Batista and defeated a much larger American force at Gitanimo then of course the CIA had to banish him as a murderer. He was hunted down by the CIA in Bolivia and then murdered by them on a false pretence blaming it on the Bolivian Govt. Great war general of course. Revolutionary.you bet. Murderer questionable..
Real Truth spoken
Painted by the C.IA.
Yeah and he was rob death,a scum stole his watch,a real men don’t robbing the deaths,he might receive the watch as a gift,if you think you’re honorable men and you execute a person who you think is evil why will you rob his watch or belonging,if that guy who still the Che watch he was right about Comandante he was a murder he could donate that watch to the people who suffer from communism,is one more proof that Che has nothing to do with communism that fact proof the thieves who order the murder of Che are the real scums who hide the real truth.
Not to mention they chop his hands,a honorable men will not desecrated the body of a death person as a proof reward to the delight of those who conduct the operation,we don’t live in barbaric era,one more proof is the barbarism and the disrespect of the Che body from the those who conduct the operation,and we all know who.
I don’t agree with everything Che was involved in, but to dismiss him as a “monster” is simply naive. Do you believe World War II was justified to stop the Nazis? How many millions were killed in that war? How many we’re killed by the atomic bombs dropped on Japan? How many are killed everyday because of capitalism, whether through starvation, malnutrition, preventable disease, workplace accidents, wars of conquest, etc, etc, etc.
Do you think George Washington doesn’t kill people in the American Revolution in the name of “freedom” (in reality for his own economic interests)? How many did he kill during the Whiskey Rebellion? I don’t hear you calling him a murderer.
Guevara oversaw the execution of between 55 and 105 people after the Cuban Revolution. All of those people were accused of and tried for the same kind of crimes committed by those executed at Nuremberg after WWII, and they were from all areas of the political spectrum. I hear no one here calling the Nuremberg executions murder. Whether due process was followed on all cases is in question by some, which is a legitimate question to ask. I’m also not saying I agree with the executions, but I think your selective horror at those in Cuba is a bit biased and extreme.
This has nothing to do with the Nazis, World War II, Japan or anything else. This post is about Che Guevara. That doesn’t excuse any wrong doings of anyone else in history.
Let’s stick to the topic here.
Everything has to be seen in context.
Where did you do your “research?” This “article” is complete trash. A scary monster, who killed thousands with his bare hands, before they were amputated for fingerprints. That’s ALL he was. Please. Present pros and cons, or this crap means nothing, except that you hate Ernesto Guevara personally, for some reason, or you just want attention.
Those are the facts Elise. The fact that you don’t like it doesn’t change anything.