Orale, Pendejo!
That is Ernesto Che Guevara, Argentinean physician, author, soldier, Marxist philosopher and hero of the July 26 Movement of the Cuban Revolution. His early death made him at least a demi-god in the pantheon of Latin American heroes – right up there with Pancho Villa and Simon Bolivar.
The image above has appeared on a gazillion T-shirts, and was lifted from the photo taken by Alberto Korda in 1960
Titled Guillerico Heroico, it has been called the most-viewed photograph on earth.
It has been said, and there is some evidence to believe, that at the time of his death Che was preparing to return to Cuba as part of a plot to assassinate his old pal Fidel.
Whether that is true our not, he did remain true to his Marxist beliefs until his death at the age of 39. He was involved in revolutions in Africa and in South America. He was eventually captured and killed in 1967 while working to recruit tin miners to a revolution in Bolivia.
I know Marxists do not believe in the existence of the soul, but Guevara’s must be undergoing a particularly painful sort of torment. His name and his image have become Big Business, making millions of dollars world-wide for hundreds of entrepreneurs. Fashion conscious children and would-be revolutionaries in Kinshasa or Cleveland can buy backpacks and T-shirts with his image.
You can even go on-line and buy the Che Guevara
If his soul really is rolling over in Hell, maybe Satan will give him a break today. I just read that in in Mumbai, for this week anyway, Obama T-shirts are outselling the Che T-shirts, in fact it is reported that that Obama shirts are selling like hotcakes among folks for whom the cost of a shirt may represent a month’s income. I really don’t know whether Guevara should be jealous or relieved.
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