che guevara - the motorcycle diaries vs his story
TRANSCRIPT
From “The Motorcycle Diaries” to the man behind the legend
ERNESTO “CHE” GUEVARA
Ernesto Guevara de la Serna was born on May 14, 1928
He was born into an upper middle-class family
Joined the Partido Union Democratica as a teenager
“What we had in common - our restlessness, our impassioned spirits, and a love for the open road.”
ERNESTO – EARLY YEARS
Thei
r
“This isn't a tale of heroic feats. It's about two lives running parallel for a while, with common aspirations and similar dreams.”
THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES
Journey
One
Mighty
The
Al Austral – Main headline on left reads:
Two Argentine Leprosy Experts Tour Latin America By Motorcycle.
SURVIVAL
“And then many things became very clear... we learned perfectly that the life of a single human being is worth millions of times more than all the property of the richest man on earth.”
COLONIALISM AT ITS WORST
Initial Purpose, yet final stop in the film
Divided by Amazon River, united in spirit
SAN PABLO LEPER VILLAGE
Major land reform
1953 - Guevara joined the government of President Jacabo Arbenz
Arbenz was overthrown by a CIA-sponsored coup
GUATEMALA
"I was born in Argentina, I fought in Cuba, and I began to be a revolutionary in Guatemala."
“Let the world change you and you can change
the world”
Joined Fidel Castro’s July 26 Movement in Mexico
Played a key role in the success of the guerilla war
Helped overthrow Cuban dictator, Fulgencio Batista“A revolution without guns?
It would never work.”
CUBAN REVOLUTION
REVOLUTION AFTERMATH Fidel Castro took control of
Cuba
Guevara strongly opposed the United States
Guevara attempted to align Cuba with the Soviet Union
Cuban leaders went against Guevara due to his criticism of the Soviet Union’s lack of support for Cuba
1965 – Guevara leaves Cuba
CONGO AND BOLIVIA Che traveled to the Congo and Bolivia to prepare
a new revolution
Guevara was not welcome in either country and was ultimately turned over to the Bolivian army
1967 – Che was executed at age 39
It has been said Che resembles Jesus Christ in his death pictures
HERO OR TERRORIST?
“To send men to the firing squad, judicial proof is unnecessary. These procedures are an archaic bourgeois detail. This is a revolution! And a revolutionary must become a cold killing machine motivated by pure hate."
“If you can tremble with indignation every time an injustice is committed in the world, then we are comrades.”
CLASS DISCUSSION
Did Che Guevara’s view on colonialism
contribute to his development into a hero or a terrorist?