Remembering Che
On Sunday, Che Guevara died 50 years ago at the hands of American-trained soldiers and more than 70 000 people celebrated his life in Cuba.
Tens of thousands of Cubans turned out on Sunday to pay tribute to Ernesto "Che" Guevara, the Argentine-born Marxist revolutionary and guerrilla leader, on the 50th anniversary of his death, celebrated on 9 October.
An estimated 70 000 people thronged the streets outside a mausoleum in this town 300km east of the capital Havana which houses the remains of Guevara and of some of his former comrades.
President Raul Castro, dressed in his general's uniform, was among those attending the ceremony in Santa Clara, which was the site of a December 1958 battle that finally sent Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista into exile.
Raul Castro fought alongside Guevara during the Cuban revolution led by his brother Fidel Castro.
The 39-year-old Guevara was captured and executed by a CIA-trained unit of the Bolivian army on 9 October 1967.
This year's ceremony was the first in the absence of Fidel Castro, who died last year, and an excerpt from one of his speeches honouring Guevara was played for the crowd.
The anniversary comes amid the dying gasps of other Latin American guerrilla movements such as the FARC in Colombia, which last year reached a peace deal with the government and recently disarmed.
The rally capped a week of tributes to the guerrilla fighter that helped overthrow Cuba’s dictatorship and bring Fidel Castro to power, before he was ambushed and killed in Bolivia in 1967.
On the ground floor of the memorial, a cavern-like enclosure holds the remains of Guevara and 30 of his comrades fallen in Bolivia. An eternal flame, lit by then President Fidel Castro, pays homage to the fighters.
On Sunday, Raul Castro and other Communist Party leaders paid tribute to Guevara and his guerrilla partners inside the memorial.
Cuban First Vice President Miguel Diaz-Canel said: “Che is not dead, as his enemies wanted. His figure grows larger as time passes and younger generations recognise his revolutionary paradigm.”
Guevara is now a “universal symbol” and inspiration in the struggle for the liberation of different nations “oppressed by imperialism”, said Diaz-Canel.
“He had a very original way of facing life, and his comrades knew how to appreciate his simplicity, sincerity, naturalness, companionship, stoicism, reckless disposition to always face the most difficult situation.”
His altruism and conscious revolutionary spirit have become an ideal to follow, said Diaz-Canel.
In Bolivia, President Evo Morales, accompanied by his cabinet and other leading figures, completed a two-kilometre pilgrimage to La Higuera, where Guevara was killed by CIA-backed mercenaries.
Born in the Argentine city of Rosario in 1928 and trained as a doctor, Guevara joined Fidel Castro’s insurgency in 1956 to overthrow Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista, and played a leading role in the rebel victory.
With Cuba under new leadership, he left the country to continue his struggle against oppression, first to Congo and then to Bolivia, where he was ambushed and killed by mercenaries.
NAMPA/AFP
An estimated 70 000 people thronged the streets outside a mausoleum in this town 300km east of the capital Havana which houses the remains of Guevara and of some of his former comrades.
President Raul Castro, dressed in his general's uniform, was among those attending the ceremony in Santa Clara, which was the site of a December 1958 battle that finally sent Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista into exile.
Raul Castro fought alongside Guevara during the Cuban revolution led by his brother Fidel Castro.
The 39-year-old Guevara was captured and executed by a CIA-trained unit of the Bolivian army on 9 October 1967.
This year's ceremony was the first in the absence of Fidel Castro, who died last year, and an excerpt from one of his speeches honouring Guevara was played for the crowd.
The anniversary comes amid the dying gasps of other Latin American guerrilla movements such as the FARC in Colombia, which last year reached a peace deal with the government and recently disarmed.
The rally capped a week of tributes to the guerrilla fighter that helped overthrow Cuba’s dictatorship and bring Fidel Castro to power, before he was ambushed and killed in Bolivia in 1967.
On the ground floor of the memorial, a cavern-like enclosure holds the remains of Guevara and 30 of his comrades fallen in Bolivia. An eternal flame, lit by then President Fidel Castro, pays homage to the fighters.
On Sunday, Raul Castro and other Communist Party leaders paid tribute to Guevara and his guerrilla partners inside the memorial.
Cuban First Vice President Miguel Diaz-Canel said: “Che is not dead, as his enemies wanted. His figure grows larger as time passes and younger generations recognise his revolutionary paradigm.”
Guevara is now a “universal symbol” and inspiration in the struggle for the liberation of different nations “oppressed by imperialism”, said Diaz-Canel.
“He had a very original way of facing life, and his comrades knew how to appreciate his simplicity, sincerity, naturalness, companionship, stoicism, reckless disposition to always face the most difficult situation.”
His altruism and conscious revolutionary spirit have become an ideal to follow, said Diaz-Canel.
In Bolivia, President Evo Morales, accompanied by his cabinet and other leading figures, completed a two-kilometre pilgrimage to La Higuera, where Guevara was killed by CIA-backed mercenaries.
Born in the Argentine city of Rosario in 1928 and trained as a doctor, Guevara joined Fidel Castro’s insurgency in 1956 to overthrow Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista, and played a leading role in the rebel victory.
With Cuba under new leadership, he left the country to continue his struggle against oppression, first to Congo and then to Bolivia, where he was ambushed and killed by mercenaries.
NAMPA/AFP
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