Ernesto "Che" Guevara, commonly known as El Che or simply Che, was a Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and military theorist. A major figure of the Cuban Revolution, since his death Guevara's stylized visage has become an ubiquitous countercultural symbol and global icon within popular culture.
His belief in the necessity of world revolution to advance the interests of the poor prompted his involvement in Guatemala's social reforms under President Jacobo Arbenz, whose eventual CIA-assisted overthrow solidified Guevara's radical ideology. Later, while living in Mexico City, he met Ra煤l and Fidel Castro, joined their movement, and travelled to Cuba with the intention of overthrowing the U.S.-backed Batista regime. Guevara soon rose to prominence among the insurgents, was promoted to second-in-command, and played a pivotal role in the successful two year guerrilla campaign that topled the Cuban government.
After serving in a number of key roles in the new government, Guevara left Cuba in 1965 to foment revolution abroad, first unsuccessfully in Congo-Kinshasa and later in Bolivia, where he was captured by CIA-assisted Bolivian forces and executed.
Guevara remains both a revered and reviled historical figure, polarized in the collective imagination in a multitude of biographies, memoirs, essays, documentaries, songs, and films. Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century, while an Alberto Korda photograph of him entitled "Guerrillero Heroico," was declared "the most famous photograph in the world" by the Maryland Institute of Art.
It鈥檚 been a while since I read something written by Che himself, but this was a really solid deep-dive on his recordings from the day to day activities ranging from landing in the Oriente province up to just before victory. From the gate, I鈥檒l admit that this isn鈥檛 the exact spot you want to look if you鈥檙e looking for a narrative or historical overview of the revolution itself. Rather, it鈥檚 where you鈥檙e gonna go if you鈥檇 prefer a glimpse into the guerrilla鈥檚 mind and his thoughts on what happened, as well as his exact perspectives and actions. A POV, if you will.
At times, like any work of this type, things felt a little boring, with entry after entry about hiding in a peasant鈥檚 hut and looking for food, but the good stuff is very good. It goes into pretty heavy detail, showing how he started primarily as the doctor for the July 26th movement, up to becoming commander. It included executions that took place and what would cause that in the first place (ya know, the famous 鈥榟e was a murderer!鈥� bullshit that people run with, leaving out the part about the 鈥榲ictims鈥� being deserters, snitches, and even at some points rapists).
The progression of everything was also pretty neat, especially when it came to overlooked parts such as the battle of La Plata or the march towards Caracas Peak. Interviewers, including from the U.S., and different people joining with different stories that sometimes made their way in here were nice, and overall this was a very entertaining read, hashing out more about one of my favorite historical figures. It鈥檚 extra nice, knowing Che Guevara never meant for it to be published, so it feels all the more authentic.
preso in un mercatino senza sapere bene cosa avrei trovato dentro. Una diario scritta in prima persona, con una narrazione diretta e senza retorica politica dei fatti della rivoluzione cubana, o almeno la parte vissuta nella Sierra Maestra dal Che e i suoi uomini. Ero personalmente ignorante in materia di Cuba e sua rivoluzione, il libro mi ha introdotto al tema.
enjoyed reading this book while in Cuba. this was my first book by Che and my first book about the Cuban revolution in general and I would have to say that it wasn't the best place to begin my learning - it would've been more enjoyable if I'd had more background knowledge. especially about the ideals and philosophies of the movement. I did enjoy Che's honest/succinct writing style and am excited to read more of his diaries. it was interesting that even in the midst of guerrilla war the daily trials/banal things like sleep, food, asthma etc still make the cut for being included in the diary. this made Che a very real, human, relatable hero.
Ernesto Guevara de La Serna starts his diary recalling his disembarking in Cuba in 1956. His boots were splashing water at Las Coloradas Beach. There were reconnaissance flights all over them; they lost all the heavy equipment in the mangroves. Wounded comrades did surrender; soon they were shot on the spot by Batista鈥檚 leal forces. With a bunch of revolutionaries, el 鈥淐he鈥�, the troop鈥檚 doctor led all the way to Sierra Maestra, meanwhile ascended to captain then to a commander. His diary is full of complaints about his asthma, the snitches and judgments about human courage and worries about food.
Recomendado para aquel que busque saber de viva voz las experiencias del Comandante Guevara en sus escaramuzas por toda la Sierra Maestra.
Se recopila y puntualiza de manera excepcional todos aquellos detalles que dan mayor contexto y profundidad a lo que el Che escribe, corrigiendo en el acto algunos errores respecto a los nombres de las ubicaciones y guerrilleros citados en el diario adem谩s el material fotogr谩fico ayuda bastante para ubicar quien es quien.
Si lo que buscas es profundizar en el ideario pol铆tico, econ贸mico y social del Che, este libro no es para nada recomendable, no incluye nada de lo anterior se帽alado ni siquiera en sus anexos. Hay mejores textos.
Che dire che non sia stato detto sul Che? Che il Che 猫 il Che, che altro che posso dire sul Che. Il diario della rivoluzione, da quando erano un pugno di uomini a quando presero L'Avana a spese del dittatore Batista. Utile per capire come si mosse direttamente sul campo colui che 猫 da tempo un'icona delle sinistre di tutto il mondo. La Rivoluzione non si 猫 fatta con fiori e petali di rosa, bens矛 con atti di guerriglia, omicidi, torture, e tutto quel che capita in guerra. Doveva andare cos矛, anche se qualcosa si poteva evitare; ma ormai cos矛 猫 stato. Que viva Cuba!
By necessity this diary is a little more utilitarian than the previous couple that included more in the way of musings, but it's no less valuable a read. The nuts and bolts of revolution are fascinating.