| A good friend of mine from Argentina has a great | | | | Albert Korda, the photographer of the classic |
| Che Guevara t-shirt. Beneath the iconic image of the | | | | "Guerrillero Heroico" shot, never made a cent in |
| revolutionary in bold letters are the words "No se quien | | | | royalties from his picture. Snapped at a memorial |
| era, pero es la moda"; I don't know who he was, but | | | | service, Albert was proud of the picture and hung it on |
| it's fashionable. | | | | his wall where it stayed until an Italian journalist asked if |
| El Che has become the personification of rebellion and | | | | he could have it. Korda obliged, and the journalist |
| counter-culture, and you can find the world-famous | | | | dutifully used the image on a poster after Guevara's |
| photograph "Guerriero Heroico" printed on everything | | | | death, setting in motion the phenomenal popularity that |
| from posters to bikinis. Guevara no doubt would have | | | | the photograph would eventually achieve. |
| despised the rampant consumerism built around his | | | | 4) Sober Che |
| image having passionately pursued communist | | | | Alert Korda actually received $50,000 (which he |
| principles for most of his adult life. | | | | donated to charity) as a result of a successful lawsuit |
| We've all seen the photo, some have watched the | | | | with a British advertising agency who used Guevara's |
| movie and a few have even got the t-shirt, but how | | | | image to sell their vodka. He presumably saw this as |
| many of the following facts did you know about | | | | the last straw following 40 years of happy-go-lucky |
| Ernesto Guevara? | | | | abuse of his image because El Che was a teetotaler; |
| 1)Foreign Che | | | | despite famously chugging on cigars for most of his |
| Despite being instrumental in the Cuban revolution and | | | | life, he never touched a drink. |
| possessing saint-like status amongst the Cuban | | | | 5) No-votes Che |
| population, Mr. Guevara was actually born in Rosario, | | | | Before we get all frothy about revolutionary spirit and |
| Argentina. In reference to Che's "restless" nature, his | | | | the romance of rebellion, lets not forget that if we |
| father declared "the first thing to note is that in my | | | | knew the full story about life under Guevara's |
| son's veins flowed the blood of the Irish rebels", putting | | | | administration, we probably wouldn't be voting him into |
| him about as far away from Cuban roots as a cup of | | | | a following term in office; during his tenure as Minister |
| Starbucks coffee. When you add to the mix that the | | | | of Industry Cuba was forced to begin food rationing. |
| word Che comes from Argentinian slang meaning 'pal' | | | | Don't expect much in the way of kissing babies and |
| or 'dude', you'll wonder why you ever thought our man | | | | soft policies from Candidate Che either; he stood out |
| was ever Cuban. | | | | from his peers fighting Castro's cause in Cuba and |
| 2) Wheezy Che | | | | was quickly promoted to comandante, where he |
| Far from superhuman status, Guevara suffered from | | | | enforced a zero tolerance policy toward deserters by |
| acute episodes of crippling asthma. In childhood, his fits | | | | sending execution squads to hunt them down. This |
| were so frequent and violent that his family were | | | | was just a warm up for Guevara, and when he got |
| forced to move from the damp coastal climate of San | | | | into power he was appointed head of La Cabana, a |
| Isidro to the dry mountain region near Cordoba. His | | | | court in which he played judge, jury and executioner to |
| problems didn't stop him from being an athlete, enjoying | | | | purge Cuba of loyalists of the previous administration. |
| swimming, soccer, golf and rugby. His asthma | | | | Historians estimate that he did away with as many as |
| frequently incapacitated him on famous travels, | | | | 2000 people, and his activities earned him the cheery |
| documented in the 2004 film "The Motorcycle Diaries", | | | | name of The Butcher of La Cabana. |
| and involvement in active conflict in Latin America and | | | | Love him or hate him, Ernesto Guevara's face isn't |
| Africa. | | | | going anywhere; he'll be around on merchandise for a |
| 3) Freebie Che | | | | few years yet. It's always difficult to form opinions |
| Upon capture in Bolivia, Che was reputed to have | | | | about a man how became famous as an image, a |
| shouted, "I am Che Guevara, and I am worth more | | | | ghost associated with whatever people wanted to use |
| alive than dead!" | | | | him for, but hopefully these facts will have blown away |
| He probably knew something we didn't, because | | | | a bit of the Cuban cigar smoke. |