The Wayback Machine - http://web.archive.org./web/20120623163524/http://wn.com:80/Che
Saturday, 23 June 2012
Che - 2008 HD Trailer - Benicio Del Toro
Che (2008) Movie Trailer - Steven Soderbergh True [HD] Click Link in Description for 1280 x 720
Che+ Part One Che Guevara+ Mot Cuoc Doi Cach Mang Chien tranh, Tam ly 2008
Jussi Björling - Che gelida manina (1956)
Ligabue - Il Giorno di dolore che uno ha (Live Arena di Verona 2008)
C'è chi dice no il mondo che vorrei 2008 dvd
Vasco Rossi - Il mondo che vorrei (Il mondo che vorrei live 2008)
Caparezza + Frankie HI-NRG MC - Quelli Che Benpensano (Premio Tenco 2008)
Beppe Grillo ad AnnoZero 28-02-2008 parte4
Doris Day - Que Sera Sera
Incognito - NOT
Quella che non sei - Ligabue

Che

Make changes yourself !



Che - 2008 HD Trailer - Benicio Del Toro
  • Order:
  • Published: 18 Dec 2008
  • Duration: 2:31
  • Updated: 06 Jun 2012
Author: artofwar420
Trailer of the much anticipated movie, Che, directed by Steven Soderbergh, starring Benicio Del Toro Release date: 24 January 2009 © 2008 IFC Films. All Rights Reserved
http://web.archive.org./web/20120623163524/http://wn.com/Che - 2008 HD Trailer - Benicio Del Toro
Che (2008) Movie Trailer - Steven Soderbergh True [HD] Click Link in Description for 1280 x 720
  • Order:
  • Published: 18 Dec 2008
  • Duration: 2:31
  • Updated: 06 Jun 2012
Author: HDTrailerz
Click hd-movie-trailerz.blogspot.com to see much more in HD! In theaters: December 12, 2008 November 26, 1956; led by Fidel Castro (Demian Bichir), a band of 80 rebels sails to Cuba. Among these young rebels is Argentine physician, Marxist, soldier, Ernesto Che Guevara (Benicio Del Toro). Nation-less, strapped for resources and fueled only by determination, the group engages in swift, bloody battle to free the Cuban people from the corrupt dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. Che and his soldiers wrestle the nation?s resources and affection from Batista?s grasp. Though considered a hero by some, Che becomes a hugely controversial figure. At the heigh ... # Genre:Drama, Action and Adventure # Director:Steven Soderbergh # Cast:Benicio Del Toro, Santiago Cabrera, Victor Rasuk Che (film) Che is a 2008 film about Marxist revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Benicio del Toro as Che. The film is actually a merged version of two films by Soderbergh: The Argentine and Guerrilla. The first part focuses on the Cuban revolution, from the moment Fidel Castro, Guevara and other revolutionaries landed on the Caribbean island, until they toppled the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista two years later. The second part focuses on the years following the Cuban revolution. It begins with Che's trip to the United Nations headquarters in New York City in 1964, until his death in the Bolivian mountains in 1967. Che was screened on May 21 at the 2008 Cannes <b>...</b>
http://web.archive.org./web/20120623163524/http://wn.com/Che (2008) Movie Trailer - Steven Soderbergh True [HD] Click Link in Description for 1280 x 720
Jussi Björling - Che gelida manina (1956)
  • Order:
  • Published: 11 Jul 2008
  • Duration: 6:16
  • Updated: 05 Jun 2012
Author: GermanOperaSinger
1956. Act 1: Mimi (Renata Tebaldi) returns to look for her key; Rodolfo (Jussi Bjorling), wishing to spend more time with her, finds and pockets the key in secret. As Mimi searches for her key, Rodolfo takes hold of her hand and introduces himself. 'Oh sventata!', followed by the aria 'Che gelida manina', sung by Jussi Bjorling. Very charming...it will put a smile on your face. Does this video violate copyright? If so, be kind to notify me before I get banned please. And if you liked this, please buy the full version (if it is still out in circulation). If not, try to find it anyway and buy it!
http://web.archive.org./web/20120623163524/http://wn.com/Jussi Björling - Che gelida manina (1956)
Ligabue - Il Giorno di dolore che uno ha (Live Arena di Verona 2008)
  • Order:
  • Published: 07 Aug 2010
  • Duration: 5:11
  • Updated: 06 Jun 2012
Author: MrAttodiFede
Sette Notti In Arena" è il terzo album live di Luciano in 20 anni di carriera e si differenzia dai suoi precedenti (Su e giù da un palco -stadi 1997- e Giro D'Italia -teatri 2003-) per tipologia, arrangiamenti ed esecuzioni, offrendo dunque un'altra affascinante chiave di ascolto attraverso gamme sonore (dal "pianissimo" al "fortissimo") finora mai utilizzate nel repertorio del Liga. Il Giorno di Dolore che uno ha - Orchestra e Band
http://web.archive.org./web/20120623163524/http://wn.com/Ligabue - Il Giorno di dolore che uno ha (Live Arena di Verona 2008)
C'è chi dice no il mondo che vorrei 2008 dvd
  • Order:
  • Published: 30 Mar 2009
  • Duration: 5:27
  • Updated: 06 Jun 2012
Author: DiGi9000
...Ke dire di piu!!!...Vasco un dio sceso sulla terra x Salvare noi uomini...xD Il maestro Solieri the best...Stef la leggenda fatta uomo...stupendo
http://web.archive.org./web/20120623163524/http://wn.com/C'è chi dice no il mondo che vorrei 2008 dvd
Beppe Grillo ad AnnoZero 28-02-2008 parte4
  • Order:
  • Published: 26 Mar 2008
  • Duration: 6:30
  • Updated: 05 Jun 2012
Author: ZumbHum
Beppe Grillo ad AnnoZero 28-02-2008 parte4
http://web.archive.org./web/20120623163524/http://wn.com/Beppe Grillo ad AnnoZero 28-02-2008 parte4
Doris Day - Que Sera Sera
  • Order:
  • Published: 13 Mar 2008
  • Duration: 2:05
  • Updated: 07 Jun 2012
Author: zennmann
When I was just a little girl I asked my mother what will I be Will I be pretty will I be rich Here's what she said to me Que Sera Sera Whatever will be will be The future's not ours to see Que Sera Sera What will be will be When I grew up and fell in love I asked my sweetheart what lies ahead Will we have rainbows day after day Here's what my sweetheart said Que Sera Sera Whatever will be will be The future's not ours to see Que Sera Sera What will be will be Now I have children of my own They ask their mother what will I be Will I be handsome will I be rich I tell them tenderly Que Sera Sera Whatever will be will be The future's not ours to see Que Sera Sera What will be will be Que Sera Sera
http://web.archive.org./web/20120623163524/http://wn.com/Doris Day - Que Sera Sera
Incognito - NOT
  • Order:
  • Published: 20 Sep 2009
  • Duration: 7:12
  • Updated: 02 Jun 2012
Author: MysticPieces
Incognito - NOT - 2008
http://web.archive.org./web/20120623163524/http://wn.com/Incognito - NOT
Quella che non sei - Ligabue
  • Order:
  • Published: 12 Jun 2008
  • Duration: 4:02
  • Updated: 06 Jun 2012
Author: AngelinTheFog
In qualunque modo ti mostri, qualsiasi maschera indossi..dentro di te sei una sola...
http://web.archive.org./web/20120623163524/http://wn.com/Quella che non sei - Ligabue
Luciana Littizzetto: Sire nostro
  • Order:
  • Published: 16 Dec 2008
  • Duration: 12:21
  • Updated: 05 Jun 2012
Author: rai
www.rai.tv - Collegati subito per vedere tutti i filmati di "Che tempo che fa" e la programmazione Rai - http
http://web.archive.org./web/20120623163524/http://wn.com/Luciana Littizzetto: Sire nostro
VUOI VEDERE CHE TI AMO
  • Order:
  • Published: 05 Nov 2008
  • Duration: 4:36
  • Updated: 06 Jun 2012
Author: gianlucagrignani
Video ufficiale del brano Vuoi vedere che ti amo di Gianluca Grignani feat. L'Aura
http://web.archive.org./web/20120623163524/http://wn.com/VUOI VEDERE CHE TI AMO
  • Che - 2008 HD Trailer - Benicio Del Toro...2:31
  • Che (2008) Movie Trailer - Steven Soderbergh True [HD] Click Link in Description for 1280 x 720...2:31
  • Jussi Björling - Che gelida manina (1956)...6:16
  • Ligabue - Il Giorno di dolore che uno ha (Live Arena di Verona 2008)...5:11
  • C'è chi dice no il mondo che vorrei 2008 dvd...5:27
  • Caparezza + Frankie HI-NRG MC - Quelli Che Benpensano (Premio Tenco 2008)...4:15
  • Beppe Grillo ad AnnoZero 28-02-2008 parte4...6:30
  • Doris Day - Que Sera Sera...2:05
  • Incognito - NOT...7:12
  • Quella che non sei - Ligabue...4:02
  • Luciana Littizzetto: Sire nostro...12:21
  • VUOI VEDERE CHE TI AMO...4:36
Trailer of the much anticipated movie, Che, directed by Steven Soderbergh, starring Benicio Del Toro Release date: 24 January 2009 © 2008 IFC Films. All Rights Reserved
2:31
Che - 2008 HD Trail­er - Beni­cio Del Toro
Trail­er of the much an­tic­i­pat­ed movie, Che, di­rect­ed by Steven Soder­bergh, star­ring Beni­ci...
pub­lished: 18 Dec 2008
au­thor: artofwar420
2:31
Che (2008) Movie Trail­er - Steven Soder­bergh True [HD] Click Link in De­scrip­tion for 1280 x 720
Click hd-movie-trailerz.​blogspot.​com to see much more in HD! In the­aters: De­cem­ber 12, 200...
pub­lished: 18 Dec 2008
au­thor: HD­Trail­erz
128:37
Che+ Part One Che Gue­vara+ Mot Cuoc Doi Cach Mang Chien tranh, Tam ly 2008
...
pub­lished: 19 Feb 2012
au­thor: Kyju­to89
6:16
Jussi Björling - Che gel­i­da man­i­na (1956)
1956. Act 1: Mimi (Re­na­ta Tebal­di) re­turns to look for her key; Rodol­fo (Jussi Bjor­ling), ...
pub­lished: 11 Jul 2008
5:11
Lig­a­bue - Il Giorno di do­lore che uno ha (Live Arena di Verona 2008)
Sette Notti In Arena" è il terzo album live di Lu­ciano in 20 anni di car­ri­era ...
pub­lished: 07 Aug 2010
5:27
C'è chi dice no il mondo che vor­rei 2008 dvd
...​Ke dire di piu!!!...​Vasco un dio sceso sulla terra x Sal­vare noi uomini...​xD Il mae­stro...
pub­lished: 30 Mar 2009
au­thor: DiGi9000
6:55
Vasco Rossi - Il mondo che vor­rei (Il mondo che vor­rei live 2008)
...
pub­lished: 12 Aug 2010
4:15
Ca­parez­za + Frankie HI-NRG MC - Quel­li Che Ben­pen­sano (Pre­mio Tenco 2008)
Quel­li che ben pen­sano live al Pre­mio Tenco di San Remo...
pub­lished: 02 Dec 2008
au­thor: bruspone
6:30
Beppe Gril­lo ad An­noZe­ro 28-02-2008 parte4
Beppe Gril­lo ad An­noZe­ro 28-02-2008 parte4...
pub­lished: 26 Mar 2008
au­thor: Zumb­Hum
2:05
Doris Day - Que Sera Sera
When I was just a lit­tle girl I asked my moth­er what will I be Will I be pret­ty will I be ...
pub­lished: 13 Mar 2008
au­thor: zen­n­mann
7:12
Incog­ni­to - NOT
Incog­ni­to - NOT - 2008...
pub­lished: 20 Sep 2009
4:02
Quel­la che non sei - Lig­a­bue
In qualunque modo ti mostri, qual­si­asi maschera indossi..​dentro di te sei una sola......
pub­lished: 12 Jun 2008
12:21
Lu­ciana Lit­tizzet­to: Sire nos­tro
www.​rai.​tv - Col­le­gati subito per vedere tutti i fil­mati di "Che tempo che fa" e...
pub­lished: 16 Dec 2008
au­thor: rai
4:36
VUOI VEDERE CHE TI AMO
Video uf­fi­ciale del brano Vuoi vedere che ti amo di Gi­an­lu­ca Grig­nani feat. L'Aura...
pub­lished: 05 Nov 2008
4:02
Ma che film la vita Au­gus­to Dao­lio
Ma che film la vita!!! hai pro­prio ra­gione Au­gus­to!!! sarai sem­pre con noi!!!...
pub­lished: 26 Feb 2008
au­thor: fromvr
4:17
Mike Pat­ton´s Mondo Cane - 02- Che Notte
Live at the Hol­land Fes­ti­val in Am­s­ter­dam. Di­rec­to de Mondo Cane en Am­s­ter­dam, mi­rad­lo ent...
pub­lished: 24 Aug 2008
3:58
Tiziano Ferro - La paura che
La paura che......
pub­lished: 17 Mar 2008
au­thor: ValeGiup­py
3:52
Come mu­si­ca - Loren­zo Jo­van­ot­ti Cheru­bi­ni
I tuoi gran­dis­si­mi sogni i miei risveg­li lon­tani I nos­tri occhi che di­ven­tano mani La tua ...
pub­lished: 18 Oct 2008
3:34
No­ma­di - Ma che film la vita
No­ma­di - Ma che film la vita...
pub­lished: 04 Oct 2008
au­thor: FraTuck­89
4:50
An­tonel­lo ven­dit­ti Che tesoro che sei
can­zone di an­tonel­lo ven­dit­ti...
pub­lished: 21 Jul 2008
4:29
Max Pez­za­li - Nient'altro che noi (con testo)
Ques­ta è una can­zone splen­di­da!!...
pub­lished: 01 Nov 2008
au­thor: Re­dRed9116
3:28
Non capi­va che l'amavo
video x paolo meneguzzi *karaoke* cre­ato da MENEGUZZA..​ilary!!...
pub­lished: 31 Mar 2008


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more news on: Che
Che redirects here. For other uses, see Che (disambiguation)
Che Guevara
250px
"Guerrillero Heroico"
Che Guevara at the La Coubre memorial service.
Taken by Alberto Korda on March 5, 1960.
Born Ernesto Guevara
(1928-06-14)June 14, 1928 [1]
Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina
Died October 9, 1967(1967-10-09) (aged 39) (execution)
La Higuera, Vallegrande, Bolivia
Resting place Che Guevara Mausoleum
Santa Clara, Cuba
Organization 26th of July Movement, United Party of the Cuban Socialist Revolution,[2] National Liberation Army (Bolivia)
Religion None (Marxist humanist)[3][4][5]
Spouse Hilda Gadea (1955–1959)
Aleida March (1959-1967, his death)
Children Hilda (1956–1995), Aleida (b. 1960), Camilo (b. 1962), Celia (b. 1963), Ernesto (b. 1965)
Parents Ernesto Guevara Lynch[6]
Celia de la Serna[6]
Signature

Ernesto "Che" Guevara (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈtʃe ɣeˈβaɾa];[7] June 14,[1] 1928 – October 9, 1967), commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and military theorist. A major figure of the Cuban Revolution, his stylized visage has become a ubiquitous countercultural symbol of rebellion and global insignia within popular culture.[8]

As a young medical student, Guevara traveled throughout Latin America and was radically transformed by the endemic poverty and alienation he witnessed.[9] His experiences and observations during these trips led him to conclude that the region's ingrained economic inequalities were an intrinsic result of capitalism, monopolism, neocolonialism, and imperialism, with the only remedy being world revolution.[10] This belief prompted his involvement in Guatemala's social reforms under President Jacobo Arbenz, whose eventual CIA-assisted overthrow solidified Guevara's political ideology. Later, while living in Mexico City, he met Raúl and Fidel Castro, joined their 26th of July Movement, and sailed to Cuba aboard the yacht, Granma, with the intention of overthrowing U.S.-backed Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista.[11] Guevara soon rose to prominence among the insurgents, was promoted to second-in-command, and played a pivotal role in the victorious two-year guerrilla campaign that deposed the Batista regime.[12]

Following the Cuban Revolution, Guevara performed a number of key roles in the new government. These included reviewing the appeals and firing squads for those convicted as war criminals during the revolutionary tribunals,[13] instituting agrarian land reform as minister of industries, helping spearhead a successful nationwide literacy campaign, serving as both national bank president and instructional director for Cuba’s armed forces, and traversing the globe as a diplomat on behalf of Cuban socialism. Such positions also allowed him to play a central role in training the militia forces who repelled the Bay of Pigs Invasion[14] and bringing the Soviet nuclear-armed ballistic missiles to Cuba which precipitated the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.[15] Additionally, he was a prolific writer and diarist, composing a seminal manual on guerrilla warfare, along with a best-selling memoir about his youthful motorcycle journey across South America. 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.[16]

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. As a result of his perceived martyrdom, poetic invocations for class struggle, and desire to create the consciousness of a "new man" driven by moral rather than material incentives; he has evolved into a quintessential icon of various leftist-inspired movements. Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century,[17] while an Alberto Korda photograph of him entitled Guerrillero Heroico (shown), was cited by the Maryland Institute College of Art as "the most famous photograph in the world".[18]

Contents

Early life[link]

A teenage Ernesto (left) with his parents and siblings, c. 1944. Seated beside him, from left to right: Celia (mother), Celia (sister), Roberto, Juan Martín, Ernesto (father) and Ana María.

Ernesto Guevara was born to Celia de la Serna y Llosa and Ernesto Guevara Lynch on June 14, 1928[1] in Rosario, Argentina, the eldest of five children in an Argentine family of Spanish, Basque and Irish descent.[19] In lieu of his parents' surnames, his legal name (Ernesto Guevara) will sometimes appear with de la Serna, or Lynch accompanying it. In reference to Che's "restless" nature, his father declared "the first thing to note is that in my son's veins flowed the blood of the Irish rebels."[20] Very early on in life Ernestito (as he was then called) developed an "affinity for the poor".[21] Growing up in a family with leftist leanings, Guevara was introduced to a wide spectrum of political perspectives even as a boy.[22] His father, a staunch supporter of Republicans from the Spanish Civil War, often hosted many veterans from the conflict in the Guevara home.[23]

Though suffering crippling bouts of acute asthma that were to afflict him throughout his life, he excelled as an athlete, enjoying swimming, football, golf, and shooting; while also becoming an "untiring" cyclist.[24][25] He was an avid rugby union player,[26] and played at fly-half for Club Universitario de Buenos Aires.[27] His rugby playing earned him the nickname "Fuser"—a contraction of El Furibundo (raging) and his mother's surname, de la Serna—for his aggressive style of play.[28]

Intellectual and literary interests[link]

22-year-old Guevara in 1951.

Guevara learned chess from his father and began participating in local tournaments by age 12. During adolescence and throughout his life he was passionate about poetry, especially that of Pablo Neruda, John Keats, Antonio Machado, Federico García Lorca, Gabriela Mistral, César Vallejo, and Walt Whitman.[29] He could also recite Rudyard Kipling's "If—" and José Hernández's "Martín Fierro" from memory.[29] The Guevara home contained more than 3,000 books, which allowed Guevara to be an enthusiastic and eclectic reader, with interests including Karl Marx, William Faulkner, André Gide, Emilio Salgari and Jules Verne.[30] Additionally, he enjoyed the works of Jawaharlal Nehru, Franz Kafka, Albert Camus, Vladimir Lenin, and Jean-Paul Sartre; as well as Anatole France, Friedrich Engels, H. G. Wells, and Robert Frost.[31]

As he grew older, he developed an interest in the Latin American writers Horacio Quiroga, Ciro Alegría, Jorge Icaza, Rubén Darío, and Miguel Asturias.[31] Many of these authors' ideas he cataloged in his own handwritten notebooks of concepts, definitions, and philosophies of influential intellectuals. These included composing analytical sketches of Buddha and Aristotle, along with examining Bertrand Russell on love and patriotism, Jack London on society, and Nietzsche on the idea of death. Sigmund Freud's ideas fascinated him as he quoted him on a variety of topics from dreams and libido to narcissism and the oedipus complex.[31] His favorite subjects in school included philosophy, mathematics, engineering, political science, sociology, history and archaeology.[32][33]

Years later, a February 13, 1958, declassified CIA 'biographical and personality report' would make note of Guevara’s wide range of academic interests and intellect, describing him as "quite well read" while adding that "Che is fairly intellectual for a Latino."[34]

Motorcycle journey[link]

In 1948, Guevara entered the University of Buenos Aires to study medicine. His "hunger to explore the world"[35] led him to intersperse his collegiate pursuits with two long introspective journeys that would fundamentally change the way he viewed himself and the contemporary economic conditions in Latin America. The first expedition in 1950 was a 4,500 kilometer (2,800 mi) solo trip through the rural provinces of northern Argentina on a bicycle on which he installed a small motor.[36] This was followed in 1951 by a nine month 8,000 kilometer (5,000 mi) continental motorcycle trek through most of South America. For the latter, he took a year off from studies to embark with his friend Alberto Granado, with the final goal of spending a few weeks volunteering at the San Pablo Leper colony in Peru, on the banks of the Amazon River.

A map of Guevara's 1952 trip with Alberto Granado. The red arrows correspond to air travel.
black and white photograph of two men on a raft, fitted with a large hut. The far bank of the river is visible in the far distance
Guevara (right) with Alberto Granado (left) aboard their "Mambo-Tango" wooden raft on the Amazon River in June 1952. The raft was a gift from the lepers whom they had treated.[37]

In Chile, Guevara found himself enraged by the working conditions of the miners in Anaconda's Chuquicamata copper mine; and moved by his overnight encounter in the Atacama Desert with a persecuted communist couple who did not even own a blanket, describing them as "the shivering flesh-and-blood victims of capitalist exploitation".[38] Additionally, on the way to Machu Picchu high in the Andes, he was struck by the crushing poverty of the remote rural areas, where peasant farmers worked small plots of land owned by wealthy landlords.[39] Later on his journey, Guevara was especially impressed by the camaraderie among those living in a Leper Colony, stating "The highest forms of human solidarity and loyalty arise among such lonely and desperate people."[39] Guevara used notes taken during this trip to write an account entitled The Motorcycle Diaries, which later became a New York Times best-seller,[40] and was adapted into a 2004 award-winning film of the same name.

In total, the journey took Guevara through Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Panama, and to Miami, before returning home to Buenos Aires. By trip's end, he came to view Latin America not as collection of separate nations, but as a single entity requiring a continent-wide liberation strategy. His conception of a borderless, united Hispanic America sharing a common 'Latino' heritage was a theme that prominently recurred during his later revolutionary activities. Upon returning to Argentina, he completed his studies and received his medical degree in June 1953, making him officially "Dr. Ernesto Guevara".[41][42]

"A motorcycle journey the length of South America awakened him to the injustice of U.S. domination in the hemisphere, and to the suffering colonialism brought to its original inhabitants."

George Galloway, British politician [43]

Guevara later remarked that through his travels of Latin America, he came in "close contact with poverty, hunger and disease" along with the "inability to treat a child because of lack of money" and "stupefaction provoked by the continual hunger and punishment" that leads a father to "accept the loss of a son as an unimportant accident". It was these experiences which Guevara cites as convincing him that in order to "help these people", he needed to leave the realm of medicine, and consider the political arena of armed struggle.[9]

Guatemala, Árbenz and United Fruit[link]

A map of Che Guevara's travels between 1953 and 1956, including his journey aboard the Granma.

On July 7, 1953, Guevara set out again, this time to Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador. On December 10, 1953, before leaving for Guatemala, Guevara sent an update to his Aunt Beatriz from San José, Costa Rica. In the letter Guevara speaks of traversing through the "dominions" of the United Fruit Company, which convinced him "how terrible" the "Capitalist octopuses" were.[44] This affirmed indignation carried the "head hunting tone" that he adopted in order to frighten his more Conservative relatives, and ends with Guevara swearing on an image of the then recently deceased Joseph Stalin, not to rest until these "octopuses have been vanquished".[45] Later that month, Guevara arrived in Guatemala where President Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán headed a democratically elected government that, through land reform and other initiatives, was attempting to end the latifundia system. To accomplish this, President Árbenz had enacted a major land reform program, where all uncultivated portions of large land holdings were to be expropriated and redistributed to landless peasants. The biggest land owner, and one most affected by the reforms, was the United Fruit Company, from which the Árbenz government had already taken more than 225,000 acres (910 km2) of uncultivated land.[46] Pleased with the road the nation was heading down, Guevara decided to settle down in Guatemala so as to "perfect himself and accomplish whatever may be necessary in order to become a true revolutionary."[47]

In Guatemala City, Guevara sought out Hilda Gadea Acosta, a Peruvian economist who was well-connected politically as a member of the left-leaning Alianza Popular Revolucionaria Americana (APRA, American Popular Revolutionary Alliance). She introduced Guevara to a number of high-level officials in the Arbenz government. Guevara then established contact with a group of Cuban exiles linked to Fidel Castro through the July 26, 1953 attack on the Moncada Barracks in Santiago de Cuba. During this period he acquired his famous nickname, due to his frequent use of the Argentine diminutive interjection che, a vocative casual speech filler used to call attention or ascertain comprehension, similarly to both "bro" or the Canadian phrase "eh".[48]

Guevara's attempts to obtain a medical internship were unsuccessful and his economic situation was often precarious. On May 15, 1954, a shipment of Škoda infantry and light artillery weapons was sent from Communist Czechoslovakia for the Arbenz Government and arrived in Puerto Barrios.[49] As a result, the U.S. CIA sponsored an army which invaded the country and installed the right-wing dictatorship of Carlos Castillo Armas.[47] Guevara was eager to fight on behalf of Arbenz and joined an armed militia organized by the Communist Youth for that purpose, but frustrated with the group's inaction, he soon returned to medical duties. Following the coup, he again volunteered to fight, but soon after, Arbenz took refuge in the Mexican Embassy and told his foreign supporters to leave the country. Guevara’s repeated calls to resist were noted by supporters of the coup, and he was marked for murder.[50] After Hilda Gadea was arrested, Guevara sought protection inside the Argentine consulate, where he remained until he received a safe-conduct pass some weeks later and made his way to Mexico.[51] He married Gadea in Mexico in September 1955.[52]

The overthrow of the Arbenz regime cemented Guevara's view of the United States as an imperialist power that would oppose and attempt to destroy any government that sought to redress the socioeconomic inequality endemic to Latin America and other developing countries. In speaking about the coup Guevara stated:

"The last Latin American revolutionary democracy – that of Jacobo Arbenz – failed as a result of the cold premeditated aggression carried out by the U.S.A. Its visible head was the Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, a man who, through a rare coincidence, was also a stockholder and attorney for the United Fruit Company."[50]

Guevara's conviction that Marxism achieved through armed struggle and defended by an armed populace was the only way to rectify such conditions was thus strengthened.[53] Gadea wrote later, "It was Guatemala which finally convinced him of the necessity for armed struggle and for taking the initiative against imperialism. By the time he left, he was sure of this."[54]

Mexico City and preparation[link]

Guevara with Hilda Gadea at Chichén Itzá on their honeymoon trip.

Guevara arrived in Mexico City in early September 1954, and worked in the allergy section of the General Hospital. In addition he gave lectures on medicine at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and worked as a news photographer for Latina News Agency.[55] His first wife Hilda notes in her memoir My Life with Che, that for a while, Guevara considered going to work as a doctor in Africa and that he continued to be deeply troubled by the poverty around him.[56] In one instance, Hilda describes Guevara's obsession with an elderly washerwoman whom he was treating, remarking that he saw her as "representative of the most forgotten and exploited class". Hilda later found a poem that Che had dedicated to the old woman, containing "a promise to fight for a better world, for a better life for all the poor and exploited."[56]

During this time he renewed his friendship with Ñico López and the other Cuban exiles whom he had met in Guatemala. In June 1955, López introduced him to Raúl Castro who subsequently introduced him to his older brother, Fidel Castro, the revolutionary leader who had formed the 26th of July Movement and was now plotting to overthrow the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. During a long conversation with Fidel on the night of their first meeting, Guevara concluded that the Cuban's cause was the one for which he had been searching and before daybreak he had signed up as a member of the July 26 Movement.[57] Despite their "contrasting personalities", from this point on Che and Fidel began to foster what dual biographer Simon Reid-Henry deems a "revolutionary friendship that would change the world", as a result of their coinciding commitment to anti-imperialism.[58]

By this point in Guevara’s life, he deemed that U.S.-controlled conglomerates installed and supported repressive regimes around the world. In this vein, he considered Batista a "U.S. puppet whose strings needed cutting".[59] Although he planned to be the group's combat medic, Guevara participated in the military training with the members of the Movement. The key portion of training involved learning hit and run tactics of guerrilla warfare. Guevara and the others underwent arduous 15-hour marches over mountains, across rivers, and through the dense undergrowth, learning and perfecting the procedures of ambush and quick retreat. From the start Guevara was Alberto Bayo's "prize student" among those in training, scoring the highest on all of the tests given.[60] At the end of the course, he was called "the best guerrilla of them all" by their instructor, General Bayo.[61]

Cuban Revolution[link]

Invasion, warfare and Santa Clara[link]

Guevara atop a mule in Las Villas province, Cuba, November 1958.

The first step in Castro's revolutionary plan was an assault on Cuba from Mexico via the Granma, an old, leaky cabin cruiser. They set out for Cuba on November 25, 1956. Attacked by Batista's military soon after landing, many of the 82 men were either killed in the attack or executed upon capture; only 22 found each other afterwards.[62] Guevara wrote that it was during this bloody confrontation that he laid down his medical supplies and picked up a box of ammunition dropped by a fleeing comrade, finalizing his symbolic transition from physician to combatant.

Only a small band of revolutionaries survived to re-group as a bedraggled fighting force deep in the Sierra Maestra mountains, where they received support from the urban guerrilla network of Frank País, the 26th of July Movement, and local campesinos. With the group withdrawn to the Sierra, the world wondered whether Castro was alive or dead until early 1957 when the interview by Herbert Matthews appeared in The New York Times. The article presented a lasting, almost mythical image for Castro and the guerrillas. Guevara was not present for the interview, but in the coming months he began to realize the importance of the media in their struggle. Meanwhile, as supplies and morale diminished, and with an allergy to mosquito bites which resulted in agonizing walnut-sized cysts on his body,[63] Guevara considered these "the most painful days of the war".[64]

During Guevara’s time living hidden among the poor subsistence farmers of the Sierra Maestra mountains, he discovered that there were no schools, no electricity, minimal access to healthcare, and more than 40 percent of the adults were illiterate.[65] As the war continued, Guevara became an integral part of the rebel army and "convinced Castro with competence, diplomacy and patience".[12] Guevara set up factories to make grenades, built ovens to bake bread, taught new recruits about tactics, and organized schools to teach illiterate campesinos to read and write.[12] Moreover, Guevara established health clinics, workshops to teach military tactics, and a newspaper to disseminate information.[66] The man who three years later would be dubbed by Time Magazine: "Castro's brain", at this point was promoted by Fidel Castro to Comandante (commander) of a second army column.[12]

As second in command, Guevara was a harsh disciplinarian who sometimes shot defectors. Deserters were punished as traitors, and Guevara was known to send squads to track those seeking to go AWOL.[67] As a result, Guevara became feared for his brutality and ruthlessness.[68] During the guerrilla campaign, Guevara was also responsible for the sometimes summary execution of a number of men accused of being informers, deserters or spies.[69] In his diaries, Guevara described the first such execution of Eutimio Guerra, a peasant army guide who admitted treason when it was discovered he accepted the promise of ten thousand pesos for repeatedly giving away the rebel's position for attack by the Cuban air force.[70] Such information also allowed Batista's army to burn the homes of rebel-friendly peasants.[70] Upon Guerra's request that they "end his life quickly",[70] Che stepped forward and shot him in the head, writing "The situation was uncomfortable for the people and for Eutimio so I ended the problem giving him a shot with a .32 pistol in the right side of the brain, with exit orifice in the right temporal [lobe]."[71] His scientific notations and matter-of-fact description, suggested to one biographer a "remarkable detachment to violence" by that point in the war.[71] Later, Guevara published a literary account of the incident entitled "Death of a Traitor", where he transfigured Eutimio's betrayal and pre-execution request that the revolution "take care of his children", into a "revolutionary parable about redemption through sacrifice".[71]

Smoking a pipe at his guerrilla base in the Escambray Mountains.

Although he maintained a demanding and harsh disposition, Guevara also viewed his role of commander as one of a teacher, entertaining his men during breaks between engagements with readings from the likes of Robert Louis Stevenson, Cervantes, and Spanish lyric poets.[72] Together with this role, and inspired by José Martí's principle of "literacy without borders", Guevara further ensured that his rebel fighters made daily time to teach the uneducated campesinos with whom they lived and fought to read and write, in what Guevara termed the "battle against ignorance".[65]

His commanding officer Fidel Castro has described Guevara as intelligent, daring, and an exemplary leader who "had great moral authority over his troops".[73] Castro further remarked that Guevara took too many risks, even having a "tendency toward foolhardiness".[74] Guevara's teenage lieutenant, Joel Iglesias, recounts such actions in his diary, noting that Guevara's behavior in combat even brought admiration from the enemy. On one occasion Iglesias recounts the time he had been wounded in battle, stating "Che ran out to me, defying the bullets, threw me over his shoulder, and got me out of there. The guards didn't dare fire at him ... later they told me he made a great impression on them when they saw him run out with his pistol stuck in his belt, ignoring the danger, they didn't dare shoot."[75]

Guevara was instrumental in creating the clandestine radio station Radio Rebelde (Rebel Radio) in February 1958, which broadcast news to the Cuban people with statements by the 26th of July movement, and provided radiotelephone communication between the growing number of rebel columns across the island. Guevara had apparently been inspired to create the station by observing the effectiveness of CIA supplied radio in Guatemala in ousting the government of Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán.[76]

In late July 1958, Guevara played a critical role in the Battle of Las Mercedes by using his column to halt a force of 1,500 men called up by Batista's General Cantillo in a plan to encircle and destroy Castro's forces. Years later, Major Larry Bockman of the United States Marine Corps would analyze and describe Che's tactical appreciation of this battle as "brilliant".[77] During this time Guevara also became an "expert" at leading hit-and-run tactics against Batista’s army, and then fading back into the countryside before the army could counterattack.[78]

As the war extended, Guevara led a new column of fighters dispatched westward for the final push towards Havana. Travelling by foot, Guevara embarked on a difficult 7 week march only travelling at night to avoid ambush, and often not eating for several days.[79] In the closing days of December 1958, Guevara’s task was to cut the island in half by taking Las Villas province. In a matter of days he executed a series of "brilliant tactical victories" that gave him control of all but the province’s capital city of Santa Clara.[79] Guevara then directed his "suicide squad" in the attack on Santa Clara, that became the final decisive military victory of the revolution.[80][81] In the six weeks leading up to the Battle of Santa Clara there were times when his men were completely surrounded, outgunned, and overrun. Che's eventual victory despite being outnumbered 10:1, remains in the view of some observers a "remarkable tour de force in modern warfare".[82]

After the battle of Santa Clara, January 1, 1959.

Radio Rebelde broadcast the first reports that Guevara's column had taken Santa Clara on New Year's Eve 1958. This contradicted reports by the heavily controlled national news media, which had at one stage reported Guevara's death during the fighting. At 3 am on January 1, 1959, upon learning that his generals were negotiating a separate peace with Guevara, Fulgencio Batista boarded a plane in Havana and fled for the Dominican Republic, along with an amassed "fortune of more than $300,000,000 through graft and payoffs".[83] The following day on January 2, Guevara entered Havana to take final control of the capital.[84] Fidel Castro took 6 more days to arrive, as he stopped to rally support in several large cities on his way to rolling victoriously into Havana on January 8, 1959. In mid-January 1959, Guevara went to live at a summer villa in Tarara to recover from a violent asthma attack.[85] While there he started the Tarara Group, a group that debated and formed the new plans for Cuba's social, political, and economic development.[86] In addition, Che began to write his book Guerrilla Warfare while resting at Tarara.[86]

In February, the revolutionary government proclaimed Guevara "a Cuban citizen by birth" in recognition of his role in the triumph.[87] When Hilda Gadea arrived in Cuba in late January, Guevara told her that he was involved with another woman, and the two agreed on a divorce,[88] which was finalized on May 22.[89] On June 2, 1959, he married Aleida March, a Cuban-born member of the 26th of July movement with whom he had been living since late 1958. Guevara returned to the seaside village of Tarara in June for his honeymoon with Aleida.[90] Guevara had children from both his marriages, and one illegitimate child, as follows: With Hilda Gadea (married August 18, 1955; divorced May 22, 1959), Hilda Beatriz Guevara Gadea, born February 15, 1956 in Mexico City; died August 21, 1995 in Havana, Cuba; with Aleida March (married June 2, 1959), Aleida Guevara March, born November 24, 1960 in Havana, Cuba, Camilo Guevara March, born May 20, 1962 in Havana, Cuba, Celia Guevara March, born June 14, 1963 in Havana, Cuba, and Ernesto Guevara March, born February 24, 1965 in Havana, Cuba; and with Lilia Rosa López (extramarital), Omar Pérez, born March 19, 1964 in Havana, Cuba.[91]

La Cabaña, land reform, and literacy[link]

(right to left) Rebel leader Camilo Cienfuegos, Cuban President Manuel Urrutia, and Guevara (January 1959)

The first major political crisis arose over what to do with the captured Batista officials who had been responsible for the worst of the repression.[92] During the rebellion against Batista's dictatorship, the general command of the rebel army, led by Fidel Castro, introduced into the liberated territories the 19th century penal law commonly known as the Ley de la Sierra (Law of the Sierra).[93] This law included the death penalty for extremely serious crimes, whether perpetrated by the Batista regime or by supporters of the revolution. In 1959, the revolutionary government extended its application to the whole of the republic and to those it considered war criminals, captured and tried after the revolution. According to the Cuban Ministry of Justice, this latter extension was supported by the majority of the population, and followed the same procedure as those in the Nuremberg Trials held by the Allies after World War II.[94]

To implement a portion of this plan, Castro named Guevara commander of the La Cabaña Fortress prison, for a five-month tenure (January 2 through June 12, 1959).[95] Guevara was charged with purging the Batista army and consolidating victory by exacting "revolutionary justice" against those considered to be traitors, chivatos (informants) or war criminals.[96] Serving in the post as commander of La Cabaña, Guevara reviewed the appeals of those convicted during the revolutionary tribunal process.[13] On some occasions the penalty delivered by the tribunal was death by firing squad.[97] Raúl Gómez Treto, senior legal advisor to the Cuban Ministry of Justice, has argued that the death penalty was justified in order to prevent citizens themselves from taking justice into their own hands, as happened twenty years earlier in the anti-Machado rebellion.[98] Biographers note that in January 1959, the Cuban public was in a "lynching mood",[99] and point to a survey at the time showing 93% public approval for the tribunal process.[13] Moreover, a January 22, 1959, Universal Newsreel broadcast in the U.S. and narrated by Ed Herlihy, featured Fidel Castro asking an estimated one million Cubans whether they approved of the executions, and was met with a roaring "¡Si!" (yes).[100] With 20,000 Cubans estimated to have been killed at the hands of Batista's collaborators,[101] and many of the war criminals sentenced to death accused of torture and physical atrocities,[13] the newly empowered government carried out executions, punctuated by cries from the crowds of "¡paredón!" (to the wall),[92] which biographer Jorge Castañeda describes as "without respect for due process".[102]

"I have yet to find a single credible source pointing to a case where Che executed 'an innocent'. Those persons executed by Guevara or on his orders were condemned for the usual crimes punishable by death at times of war or in its aftermath: desertion, treason or crimes such as rape, torture or murder. I should add that my research spanned five years, and included anti-Castro Cubans among the Cuban-American exile community in Miami and elsewhere."

Jon Lee Anderson, author of Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life, PBS forum [103]

Although there are varying accounts, it is estimated that several hundred people were executed nationwide during this time, with Guevara's jurisdictional death total at La Cabaña ranging from 55 to 105 (see reference).[104] Conflicting views exist of Guevara's attitude towards the executions at La Cabaña. Some exiled opposition biographers report that he relished the rituals of the firing squad, and organized them with gusto, while others relate that Guevara pardoned as many prisoners as he could.[102] What is acknowledged by all sides is that Guevara had become a "hardened" man, who had no qualms about the death penalty or summary and collective trials. If the only way to "defend the revolution was to execute its enemies, he would not be swayed by humanitarian or political arguments."[102] This is further confirmed by a February 5, 1959, letter to Luis Paredes López in Buenos Aires where Guevara states unequivocally "The executions by firing squads are not only a necessity for the people of Cuba, but also an imposition of the people."[105]

Along with ensuring "revolutionary justice", the other key early platform of Guevara's was establishing agrarian land reform. Almost immediately after the success of the revolution on January 27, 1959, Guevara made one of his most significant speeches where he talked about "the social ideas of the rebel army". During this speech, he declared that the main concern of the new Cuban government was "the social justice that land redistribution brings about".[106] A few months later on May 17, 1959, the Agrarian Reform Law crafted by Guevara went into effect, limiting the size of all farms to 1,000 acres (4.0 km2). Any holdings over these limits were expropriated by the government and either redistributed to peasants in 67-acre (270,000 m2) parcels or held as state run communes.[107] The law also stipulated that sugar plantations could not be owned by foreigners.[108]

Guevara in his trademark olive-green military fatigues and beret.

On June 12, 1959, Castro sent Guevara out on a three-month tour of 14 mostly Bandung Pact countries (Morocco, Sudan, Egypt, Syria, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, Yugoslavia, Greece) and the cities of Singapore and Hong Kong.[109] Sending Guevara away from Havana allowed Castro to appear to be distancing himself from Guevara and his Marxist sympathies, which troubled both the United States and some of Castro's July 26 Movement members.[110] Guevara spent 12 days in Japan (July 15–27), participating in negotiations aimed at expanding Cuba's trade relations with that nation. During the visit, he refused to visit and lay a wreath at Japan's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier commemorating soldiers lost during World War II, remarking that the Japanese "imperialists" had "killed millions of Asians".[111] In its place, Guevara stated that he would instead visit Hiroshima, where the American military had detonated an atom-bomb 14 years earlier.[111] Despite his denunciation of Imperial Japan, Guevara also considered President Truman a "macabre clown" for the bombings,[112] and after visiting Hiroshima and its Peace Memorial Museum, he sent back a postcard to Cuba stating "In order to fight better for peace, one must look at Hiroshima."[113]

Upon Guevara's return to Cuba in September 1959, it was evident that Castro now had more political power. The government had begun land seizures included in the agrarian reform law, but was hedging on compensation offers to landowners, instead offering low interest "bonds", a step which put the U.S. on alert. At this point the affected wealthy cattlemen of Camagüey mounted a campaign against the land redistributions, and enlisted the newly disaffected rebel leader Huber Matos, who along with the anti-Communist wing of the 26th of July Movement, joined them in denouncing the "Communist encroachment".[114] During this time Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo was offering assistance to the "Anti-Communist Legion of the Caribbean" which was training in the Dominican Republic. This multi-national force, composed mostly of Spaniards and Cubans, but also of Croatians, Germans, Greeks, and right-wing mercenaries, was plotting to topple Castro's new regime.[114]

Guevara in 1960, walking through the streets of Havana with his wife Aleida March (right).

Such threats were heightened when, on March 4, 1960, two massive explosions ripped through the French freighter La Coubre, which was carrying Belgian munitions from the port of Antwerp, and was docked in Havana Harbor. The blasts killed at least 76 people and injured several hundred, with Guevara personally providing first aid to some of the victims. Cuban leader Fidel Castro immediately accused the CIA of "an act of terrorism" and held a state funeral the following day for the victims of the blast.[115] It was at the memorial service that Alberto Korda took the famous photograph of Guevara, now known as Guerrillero Heroico.[116]

These perceived threats prompted Castro to further eliminate "counter-revolutionaries", and to utilize Guevara to drastically increase the speed of land reform. To implement this plan, a new government agency, the National Institute of Agrarian Reform (INRA), was established to administer the new Agrarian Reform law. INRA quickly became the most important governing body in the nation, with Guevara serving as its head in his capacity as minister of industries.[108] Under Guevara's command, INRA established its own 100,000 person militia, used first to help the government seize control of the expropriated land and supervise its distribution, and later to set up cooperative farms. The land confiscated included 480,000 acres (1,900 km2) owned by U.S. corporations.[108] Months later, as retaliation, U.S President Dwight D. Eisenhower sharply reduced U.S. imports of Cuban sugar (Cuba’s main cash crop), thus leading Guevara on July 10, 1960, to address over 100,000 workers in front of the Presidential Palace at a rally called to denounce U.S. "economic aggression".[117]

Along with land reform, one of the primary areas that Guevara stressed needed national improvement was in the area of literacy. Before 1959 the official literacy rate for Cuba was between 60–76%, with educational access in rural areas and a lack of instructors the main determining factors.[118] As a result, the Cuban government at Guevara's behest dubbed 1961 the "year of education", and mobilized over 100,000 volunteers into "literacy brigades", who were then sent out into the countryside to construct schools, train new educators, and teach the predominately illiterate guajiros (peasants) to read and write.[65][118] Unlike many of Guevara's later economic initiatives, this campaign was "a remarkable success".[118] By the completion of the Cuban Literacy Campaign, 707,212 adults had been taught to read and write, raising the national literacy rate to 96%.[118]

"Guevara was like a father to me ... he educated me. He taught me to think. He taught me the most beautiful thing which is to be human."

— Urbano (aka Leonardo Tamayo),
fought with Guevara in Cuba and Bolivia [119]

Accompanying literacy, Guevara was also concerned with establishing universal access to higher education. To accomplish this, the new regime introduced affirmative action to the universities.[120] While announcing this new commitment, Guevara told the gathered faculty and students at the University of Las Villas that the days when education was "a privilege of the white middle class" had ended. "The University" he said, "must paint itself black, mulatto, worker, and peasant." If it did not, he warned, the people would break down its doors "and paint the University the colors they like."[120]

The "New Man", Bay of Pigs and missile crisis[link]

"Man truly achieves his full human condition when he produces without being compelled by the physical necessity of selling himself as a commodity."
— Che Guevara, Man and Socialism in Cuba [121]

At this stage, Guevara acquired the additional position of Finance Minister, as well as President of the National Bank. These appointments, combined with his existing position as Minister of Industries, placed Guevara at the zenith of his power, as the "virtual czar" of the Cuban economy.[117] As a consequence of his position at the head of the central bank, it was now Guevara's duty to sign the Cuban currency, which per custom would bear his signature. Instead of using his full name, he signed the bills solely "Che".[122] It was through this symbolic act, which horrified many in the Cuban financial sector, that Guevara signaled his distaste for money and the class distinctions it brought about.[122] Guevara's long time friend Ricardo Rojo later remarked that "the day he signed Che on the bills, (he) literally knocked the props from under the widespread belief that money was sacred."[123]

Meeting with French existentialist philosophers Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir in March 1960. In addition to Spanish, Guevara was fluent in French.[124]

Guevara's first desired economic goal, which coincided with his aversion for wealth condensation and economic inequality, was to see a nation-wide elimination of material incentives in favor of moral ones. He viewed capitalism as a "contest among wolves" where "one can only win at the cost of others" and thus desired to see the creation of a "new man and woman".[125] Guevara continually stressed that a socialist economy in itself is not "worth the effort, sacrifice, and risks of war and destruction" if it ends up encouraging "greed and individual ambition at the expense of collective spirit".[126] A primary goal of Guevara's thus became to reform "individual consciousness" and values to produce better workers and citizens.[126] In his view, Cuba's "new man" would be able to overcome the "egotism" and "selfishness" that he loathed and discerned was uniquely characteristic of individuals in capitalist societies.[126] In describing this new method of "development", Guevara stated:

"There is a great difference between free-enterprise development and revolutionary development. In one of them, wealth is concentrated in the hands of a fortunate few, the friends of the government, the best wheeler-dealers. In the other, wealth is the people’s patrimony."[127]

A further integral part of fostering a sense of "unity between the individual and the mass", Guevara believed, was volunteer work and will. To display this, Guevara "led by example", working "endlessly at his ministry job, in construction, and even cutting sugar cane" on his day off.[128] He was known for working 36 hours at a stretch, calling meetings after midnight, and eating on the run.[126] Such behavior was emblematic of Guevara's new program of moral incentives, where each worker was now required to meet a quota and produce a certain quantity of goods. As a replacement for the pay increases abolished by Guevara, workers who exceeded their quota now only received a certificate of commendation, while workers who failed to meet their quotas were given a pay cut.[126] Guevara unapologetically defended his personal philosophy towards motivation and work, stating:

Guevara fishing off the coast of Havana, on May 15, 1960. Along with Castro, Guevara competed with expatriate author Ernest Hemingway at what was known as the "Hemingway Fishing Contest".
"This is not a matter of how many pounds of meat one might be able to eat, or how many times a year someone can go to the beach, or how many ornaments from abroad one might be able to buy with his current salary. What really matters is that the individual feels more complete, with much more internal richness and much more responsibility."[129]

In the face of a loss of commercial connections with Western states, Guevara tried to replace them with closer commercial relationships with Eastern Bloc states, visiting a number of Marxist states and signing trade agreements with them. At the end of 1960 he visited Czechoslovakia, the Soviet Union, North Korea, Hungary and East Germany and signed, for instance, a trade agreement in East Berlin on December 17, 1960.[130] Such agreements helped Cuba's economy to a certain degree but also had the disadvantage of a growing economic dependency on the Eastern Bloc. It was also in East Germany where Guevara met Tamara Bunke (later known as "Tania"), who was assigned as his interpreter, and who would years later join him and be killed with him in Bolivia.

Whatever the merits or demerits of Guevara’s economic principles, his programs were unsuccessful.[131] Guevara's program of "moral incentives" for workers caused a rapid drop in productivity and a rapid rise in absenteeism.[132] In reference to the collective failings of Guevara's vision, reporter I.F. Stone who interviewed Guevara twice during this time, remarked that he was "Galahad not Robespierre", while opining that "in a sense he was, like some early saint, taking refuge in the desert. Only there could the purity of the faith be safeguarded from the unregenerate revisionism of human nature."[133]

On April 17, 1961, 1,400 U.S.-trained Cuban exiles invaded Cuba during the Bay of Pigs Invasion. Guevara did not play a key role in the fighting, as one day before the invasion a warship carrying Marines faked an invasion off the West Coast of Pinar del Río and drew forces commanded by Guevara to that region. However, historians give him a share of credit for the victory as he was director of instruction for Cuba’s armed forces at the time.[14] Author Tad Szulc in his explanation of the Cuban victory, assigns Guevara partial credit, stating: "The revolutionaries won because Che Guevara, as the head of the Instruction Department of the Revolutionary Armed Forces in charge of the militia training program, had done so well in preparing 200,000 men and women for war."[14] It was also during this deployment that he suffered a bullet grazing to the cheek when his pistol fell out of its holster and accidentally discharged.[134]

According to Dick goodwin "[Che] went on to say that he wanted to thank us [the United States] very much for the invasion –that it had been a great political victory for them– enabled them to consolidate — and transformed them from an aggrieved little country to an equal."[135]

Guevara (left) and Fidel Castro, photographed by Alberto Korda in 1961.

In August 1961, during an economic conference of the Organization of American States in Punta del Este, Uruguay, Che Guevara sent a note of "gratitude" to U.S. President John F. Kennedy through Richard N. Goodwin, a young secretary of the White House. It read "Thanks for Playa Girón (Bay of Pigs). Before the invasion, the revolution was shaky. Now it's stronger than ever."[136] In response to U.S. Treasury Secretary Douglas Dillon presenting the Alliance for Progress for ratification by the meeting, Guevara antagonistically attacked the United States claim of being a "democracy", stating that such a system was not compatible with "financial oligarchy, discrimination against blacks, and outrages by the Ku Klux Klan".[137] Guevara continued, speaking out against the "persecution" that in his view "drove scientists like Oppenheimer from their posts, deprived the world for years of the marvelous voice of Paul Robeson, and sent the Rosenbergs to their deaths against the protests of a shocked world."[137] Guevara ended his remarks by insinuating that the United States was not interested in real reforms, sardonically quipping that "U.S. experts never talk about agrarian reform; they prefer a safe subject, like a better water supply. In short they seem to prepare the revolution of the toilets."[31]

Guevara, who was practically the architect of the Soviet-Cuban relationship,[138] then played a key role in bringing to Cuba the Soviet nuclear-armed ballistic missiles that precipitated the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962 and brought the world to the brink of nuclear war.[139] A few weeks after the crisis, during an interview with the British communist newspaper the Daily Worker, Guevara was still fuming over the perceived Soviet betrayal and told correspondent Sam Russell that, if the missiles had been under Cuban control, they would have fired them off.[140] While expounding on the incident later, Guevara reiterated that the cause of socialist liberation against global "imperialist aggression" would ultimately have been worth the possibility of "millions of atomic war victims".[141] The missile crisis further convinced Guevara that the world's two superpowers (the United States and the Soviet Union) used Cuba as a pawn in their own global strategies. Afterward he denounced the Soviets almost as frequently as he denounced the Americans.[142]

International diplomacy[link]

A world map displaying those countries lived in or visited by Che Guevara in red. The three nations where he engaged in armed revolution are signified in green.

By December 1964, Che Guevara had emerged as a "revolutionary statesman of world stature" and thus traveled to New York City as head of the Cuban delegation to speak at the United Nations.[123] During his impassioned address, he criticized the United Nations' inability to confront the "brutal policy of apartheid" in South Africa, asking "Can the United Nations do nothing to stop this?"[143] Guevara then denounced the United States policy towards their black population, stating:

"Those who kill their own children and discriminate daily against them because of the color of their skin; those who let the murderers of blacks remain free, protecting them, and furthermore punishing the black population because they demand their legitimate rights as free men—how can those who do this consider themselves guardians of freedom?"[143]

An indignant Guevara ended his speech by reciting the Second Declaration of Havana, decreeing Latin America a "family of 200 million brothers who suffer the same miseries".[143] This "epic", Guevara declared, would be written by the "hungry Indian masses, peasants without land, exploited workers, and progressive masses". To Guevara the conflict was a struggle of masses and ideas, which would be carried forth by those "mistreated and scorned by imperialism" who were previously considered "a weak and submissive flock". With this "flock", Guevara now asserted, "Yankee monopoly capitalism" now terrifyingly saw their "gravediggers".[143] It would be during this "hour of vindication", Guevara pronounced, that the "anonymous mass" would begin to write its own history "with its own blood" and reclaim those "rights that were laughed at by one and all for 500 years". Guevara ended his remarks to the General Assembly by hypothesizing that this "wave of anger” would "sweep the lands of Latin America" and that the labor masses who "turn the wheel of history" were now, for the first time, "awakening from the long, brutalizing sleep to which they had been subjected".[143]

Guevara later learned that there were two failed attempts on his life by Cuban exiles during his stop at the U.N. complex.[144] The first from Molly Gonzales who tried to break through barricades upon his arrival with a seven-inch hunting knife, and later during his address by Guillermo Novo with a timer-initiated bazooka that was fired off target from a boat in the East River at the United Nations Headquarters.[144] Afterwards Guevara commented on both incidents, stating that "it is better to be killed by a woman with a knife than by a man with a gun", while adding with a languid wave of his cigar that the explosion had "given the whole thing more flavor".[144]

While in New York Guevara also appeared on the CBS Sunday news program Face the Nation and met with a range of people, from U.S. Senator Eugene McCarthy[145] to associates of Malcolm X. The latter expressed his admiration, declaring Guevara "one of the most revolutionary men in this country right now" while reading a statement from him to a crowd at the Audubon Ballroom.[146]

Walking through Red Square in Moscow, November 1964.

On December 17 Guevara left for Paris, France, and from there embarked on a three-month world tour that included vists to the People's Republic of China, North Korea, the United Arab Republic, Egypt, Algeria, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Dahomey, Congo-Brazzaville and Tanzania, with stops in Ireland and Prague. While in Ireland Guevara embraced his own Irish heritage, celebrating Saint Patrick's Day in Limerick City.[147] He wrote to his father on this visit, humorously stating "I am in this green Ireland of your ancestors. When they found out, the television [station] came to ask me about the Lynch genealogy, but in case they were horse thieves or something like that, I didn't say much."[148]

During this voyage he wrote a letter to Carlos Quijano, editor of a Uruguayan weekly, which was later retitled Socialism and Man in Cuba.[125] Outlined in the treatise was Guevara's summons for the creation of a new consciousness, a new status of work, and a new role of the individual. He also laid out the reasoning behind his anti-capitalist sentiments, stating:

"The laws of capitalism, blind and invisible to the majority, act upon the individual without his thinking about it. He sees only the vastness of a seemingly infinite horizon before him. That is how it is painted by capitalist propagandists, who purport to draw a lesson from the example of Rockefeller—whether or not it is true—about the possibilities of success. The amount of poverty and suffering required for the emergence of a Rockefeller, and the amount of depravity that the accumulation of a fortune of such magnitude entails, are left out of the picture, and it is not always possible to make the people in general see this."[125]

Guevara ended the essay by declaring that "the true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love" and beckoning on all revolutionaries to "strive every day so that this love of living humanity will be transformed into acts that serve as examples", thus becoming "a moving force".[125] The genesis for Guevara's assertions relied on the fact that he believed the example of the Cuban Revolution was "something spiritual that would transcend all borders".[31]

Algiers, the Soviets and China[link]

In Algiers, Algeria on February 24, 1965, Guevara made what turned out to be his last public appearance on the international stage when he delivered a speech at an economic seminar on Afro-Asian solidarity.[149] He specified the moral duty of the socialist countries, accusing them of tacit complicity with the exploiting Western countries. He proceeded to outline a number of measures which he said the communist-bloc countries must implement in order to accomplish the defeat of imperialism.[150] Having criticized the Soviet Union (the primary financial backer of Cuba) in such a public manner, he returned to Cuba on March 14 to a solemn reception by Fidel and Raúl Castro, Osvaldo Dorticós and Carlos Rafael Rodríguez at the Havana airport.

As revealed in his last public speech in Algiers, Guevara had come to view the Northern Hemisphere, led by the U.S. in the West and the Soviet Union in the East, as the exploiter of the Southern Hemisphere. He strongly supported Communist North Vietnam in the Vietnam War, and urged the peoples of other developing countries to take up arms and create "many Vietnams".[151]

Moreover, the coincidence of Guevara's views with those expounded by the Chinese Communist leadership under Mao Zedong was increasingly problematic for Cuba as the nation's economy became more and more dependent on the Soviet Union. Since the early days of the Cuban revolution, Guevara had been considered by many an advocate of Maoist strategy in Latin America and the originator of a plan for the rapid industrialization of Cuba that was frequently compared to China's "Great Leap Forward". Castro became weary of Guevara's opposition to Soviet conditions and recommendations: measures that Castro saw as necessary, but which Guevara described as corrupt and "pre-monopolist".[152]

"Marx characterized the psychological or philosophical manifestation of capitalist social relations as alienation and antagonism; the result of the commodification of labor and the operation of the law of value. For Guevara, the challenge was to replace the individuals' alienation from the productive process, and the antagonism generated by class relations, with integration and solidarity, developing a collective attitude to production and the concept of work as a social duty."

— Helen Yaffe, author of Che Guevara: The Economics of Revolution [153]

In Guevara's private writings from this time (since released), he displays his growing criticism of the Soviet political economy, believing that the Soviets had "forgotten Marx".[153] This led Guevara to denounce a range of Soviet practices including what he saw as their attempt to "air-brush the inherent violence of class struggle integral to the transition from capitalism to socialism", their "dangerous" policy of peaceful co-existence with the United States, their failure to push for a "change in consciousness" towards the idea of work, and their attempt to "liberalize" the socialist economy.[153] It was Guevara's desire to see the complete elimination of money, interest, commodity production, the market economy, and "mercantile relationships": all conditions that the Soviets argued would only disappear when world communism was achieved.[153] Disagreeing with this incrementalist approach, Guevara criticized the Soviet Manual of Political Economy, correctly predicting that since the Soviets were not willing to abolish the law of value (as Guevara desired), they would eventually return to capitalism.[153]

Two weeks after his Algiers speech, Guevara dropped out of public life and then vanished altogether. His whereabouts were a great mystery in Cuba, as he was generally regarded as second in power to Castro himself. His disappearance was variously attributed to the failure of the industrialization scheme he had advocated while minister of industry, to pressure exerted on Castro by Soviet officials disapproving of Guevara's pro-Chinese Communist stance on the Sino-Soviet split, and to serious differences between Guevara and the pragmatic Castro regarding Cuba's economic development and ideological line. Pressed by international speculation regarding Guevara's fate, Castro stated on June 16, 1965 that the people would be informed when Guevara himself wished to let them know. Still, rumors spread both inside and outside Cuba. On October 3, 1965, Castro publicly revealed an undated letter purportedly written to him by Guevara some months earlier; in it, Guevara reaffirmed his enduring solidarity with the Cuban Revolution but declared his intention to leave Cuba to fight for the revolutionary cause abroad. Additionally, he resigned from all his positions in the government and party, and renounced his honorary Cuban citizenship.[154]

Congo[link]

37-year-old Guevara, holding an African baby and standing with a fellow Afro-Cuban soldier in the Congo Crisis, 1965.

In early 1965 Guevara went to Africa to offer his knowledge and experience as a guerrilla to the ongoing conflict in the Congo. According to Algerian President Ahmed Ben Bella, Guevara thought that Africa was imperialism's weak link and therefore had enormous revolutionary potential.[155] Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, who had fraternal relations with Che dating back to his 1959 visit, saw Guevara's plans to fight in the Congo as "unwise" and warned that he would become a "Tarzan" figure, doomed to failure.[156] Despite the warning, Guevara traveled to the Congo using the alias Ramón Benítez.[157] Guevara led the Cuban operation in support of the Marxist Simba movement, which had emerged from the ongoing Congo crisis. Guevara, his second-in-command Victor Dreke, and 12 other Cuban expeditionaries arrived in the Congo on April 24, 1965 and a contingent of approximately 100 Afro-Cubans joined them soon afterward.[158][159] They collaborated for a time with guerrilla leader Laurent-Désiré Kabila, who had previously helped supporters of the overthrown Patrice Lumumba lead an unsuccessful revolt months earlier. As an admirer of the late Lumumba, Guevara declared that his "murder should be a lesson for all of us".[160] Guevara, with limited knowledge of Swahili and the local languages, was assigned a teenage interpreter, Freddy Ilanga. Over the course of seven months Ilanga grew to "admire the hard-working Guevara", who "showed the same respect to black people as he did to whites".[161] However, Guevara soon became disillusioned with the discipline of Kabila's troops and later dismissed him, stating "nothing leads me to believe he is the man of the hour".[162]

As an additional obstacle, white South African mercenaries, led by Mike Hoare in concert with Cuban exiles and the CIA, worked with the Congo National Army to thwart Guevara in the mountains near the village of Fizi on Lake Tanganyika. They were able to monitor his communications and so pre-empted his attacks and interdicted his supply lines. Despite the fact that Guevara sought to conceal his presence in the Congo, the U.S. government was aware of his location and activities. The National Security Agency was intercepting all of his incoming and outgoing transmissions via equipment aboard the USNS Private Jose F. Valdez (T-AG-169), a floating listening post that continuously cruised the Indian Ocean off Dar es Salaam for that purpose.[163]

Listening to a Zenith Trans-Oceanic shortwave receiver are (seated from the left) Rogelio Oliva, José María Martínez Tamayo (known as "Mbili" in the Congo and "Ricardo" in Bolivia), and Guevara. Standing behind them is Roberto Sánchez ("Lawton" in Cuba and "Changa" in the Congo).

Guevara's aim was to export the revolution by instructing local anti-Mobutu Simba fighters in Marxist ideology and foco theory strategies of guerrilla warfare. In his Congo Diary, he cites the incompetence, intransigence and infighting of the local Congolese forces as key reasons for the revolt's failure.[164] Later that year on November 20, 1965, in ill health with dysentery, suffering from acute asthma and disheartened after seven months of frustration and inactivity, Guevara left the Congo with the Cuban survivors, six members of his 12-man column having died. At one point Guevara considered sending the wounded back to Cuba and fighting in Congo alone until his death, as a revolutionary example. After being urged by his comrades and pressed by two emissaries sent by Castro, at the last moment he reluctantly agreed to leave Africa. In speaking about his experience in the Congo months later, Guevara concluded that he left rather than fight to the death because: "The human element failed. There is no will to fight. The leaders are corrupt. In a word... there was nothing to do."[165] Guevara also declared that "we can't liberate by ourselves a country that does not want to fight."[166] A few weeks later, when writing the preface to the diary he kept during the Congo venture, he began: "This is the history of a failure."[167]

Guevara was reluctant to return to Cuba, because Castro had made public Guevara's "farewell letter"—a letter intended to only be revealed in the case of his death—wherein he severed all ties in order to devote himself to revolution throughout the world.[168] As a result, Guevara spent the next six months living clandestinely in Dar es Salaam and Prague.[169] During this time he compiled his memoirs of the Congo experience and wrote drafts of two more books, one on philosophy and the other on economics. He then visited several Western European countries to test his new false identity papers, created by Cuban Intelligence for his later travels to South America. As Guevara prepared for Bolivia, he secretly traveled back to Cuba to visit Castro, as well as to see his wife and to write a last letter to his five children to be read upon his death, which ended with him instructing them:

"Above all, always be capable of feeling deeply any injustice committed against anyone, anywhere in the world. This is the most beautiful quality in a revolutionary."[170]

Bolivia[link]

In late 1966, Guevara's location was still not public knowledge, although representatives of Mozambique's independence movement, the FRELIMO, reported that they met with Guevara in late 1966 in Dar es Salaam regarding his offer to aid in their revolutionary project, an offer which they ultimately rejected.[171] In a speech at the 1967 International Workers' Day rally in Havana, the acting minister of the armed forces, Major Juan Almeida, announced that Guevara was "serving the revolution somewhere in Latin America".

Before he departed for Bolivia, Guevara altered his appearance by shaving off his beard and part of the top of his head as well as dyeing the rest of his hair grey so he would be unrecognizable as Che Guevara.[172] On November 3, 1966, Guevara secretly arrived in La Paz on a flight from Montevideo under the false name Adolfo Mena González, posing as a middle-aged Uruguayan businessman working for the Organization of American States.[173]

Guevara in rural Bolivia, shortly before his death (1967).

Guevara's first base camp was located in the montane dry forest in the remote Ñancahuazú region. Training at the camp in the Ñancahuazú valley proved to be hazardous, and little was accomplished in way of building a guerrilla army. The Argentine-born East German operative Haydée Tamara Bunke Bider, better known by her nom de guerre "Tania", had been installed as Che's primary agent in La Paz.[174][175]

Guevara's guerrilla force, numbering about 50[176] and operating as the ELN (Ejército de Liberación Nacional de Bolivia; "National Liberation Army of Bolivia"), was well equipped and scored a number of early successes against Bolivian army regulars in the difficult terrain of the mountainous Camiri region. As a result of Guevara’s units' winning several skirmishes against Bolivian troops in the spring and summer of 1967, the Bolivian government began to overestimate the true size of the guerrilla force.[177] But in September the Army managed to eliminate two guerrilla groups in a violent battle, reportedly killing one of the leaders.

Researchers hypothesize that Guevara's plan for fomenting revolution in Bolivia failed for an array of reasons:

  • He had expected to deal only with the Bolivian military, who were poorly trained and equipped, and was unaware that the U.S. government had sent a team of the CIA's Special Activities Division commandos and other operatives into Bolivia to aid the anti-insurrection effort. The Bolivian Army would also be trained, advised, and supplied by U.S. Army Special Forces including a recently organized elite battalion of Rangers trained in jungle warfare that set up camp in La Esperanza, a small settlement close to the location of Guevara's guerrillas.[178]
  • Guevara had expected assistance and cooperation from the local dissidents that he did not receive, nor did he receive support from Bolivia's Communist Party under the leadership of Mario Monje, which was oriented toward Moscow rather than Havana. In Guevara's own diary captured after his death, he wrote about the Communist Party of Bolivia, which he characterized as "distrustful, disloyal and stupid".[179]
  • He had expected to remain in radio contact with Havana. The two shortwave transmitters provided to him by Cuba were faulty; thus the guerrillas were unable to communicate and be resupplied, leaving them isolated and stranded.

In addition, Guevara's known preference for confrontation rather than compromise, which had previously surfaced during his guerrilla warfare campaign in Cuba, contributed to his inability to develop successful working relationships with local leaders in Bolivia, just as it had in the Congo.[180] This tendency had existed in Cuba, but had been kept in check by the timely interventions and guidance of Fidel Castro.[181]

The end result was that Guevara was unable to attract inhabitants of the local area to join his militia during the eleven months he attempted recruitment. Near the end of the venture Guevara wrote in his diary that "the peasants do not give us any help, and they are turning into informers."[182]

Capture and execution[link]

"There was no person more feared by the company (CIA) than Che Guevara because he had the capacity and charisma necessary to direct the struggle against the political repression of the traditional hierarchies in power in the countries of Latin America."

Philip Agee, CIA agent, later defected to Cuba [183]

Félix Rodríguez, a Cuban exile turned CIA Special Activities Division operative, advised Bolivian troops during the hunt for Guevara in Bolivia.[184] In addition the 2007 documentary My Enemy's Enemy, directed by Kevin Macdonald, alleges that Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie, aka "The Butcher of Lyon", advised and possibly helped the CIA orchestrate Guevara's eventual capture.[185]

Location of Vallegrande in Bolivia.

On October 7, 1967, an informant apprised the Bolivian Special Forces of the location of Guevara's guerrilla encampment in the Yuro ravine.[186] On October 8, they encircled the area with 1,800 soldiers, and Guevara was wounded and taken prisoner while leading a detachment with Simeón Cuba Sarabia. Che biographer Jon Lee Anderson reports Bolivian Sergeant Bernardino Huanca's account: that a twice-wounded Guevara, his gun rendered useless, shouted, "Do not shoot! I am Che Guevara and worth more to you alive than dead."[187]

Monument to Guevara in La Higuera.

Guevara was tied up and taken to a dilapidated mud schoolhouse in the nearby village of La Higuera on the night of October 8. For the next half day, Guevara refused to be interrogated by Bolivian officers and would only speak quietly to Bolivian soldiers. One of those Bolivian soldiers, helicopter pilot Jaime Nino de Guzman, describes Che as looking "dreadful". According to Guzman, Guevara was shot through the right calf, his hair was matted with dirt, his clothes were shredded, and his feet were covered in rough leather sheaths. Despite his haggard appearance, he recounts that "Che held his head high, looked everyone straight in the eyes and asked only for something to smoke." De Guzman states that he "took pity" and gave him a small bag of tobacco for his pipe, and that Guevara then smiled and thanked him.[188] Later on the night of October 8, Guevara, despite having his hands tied, kicked Bolivian Officer Espinosa into the wall after the officer entered the schoolhouse and tried to snatch Guevara's pipe from his mouth as a souvenir while he was still smoking it.[189] In another instance of defiance, Guevara spat in the face of Bolivian Rear Admiral Ugarteche shortly before his execution.[189]

The following morning on October 9, Guevara asked to see the maestra (school teacher) of the village, 22-year-old Julia Cortez. Cortez would later state that she found Guevara to be an "agreeable looking man with a soft and ironic glance" and that during their conversation she found herself "unable to look him in the eye" because his "gaze was unbearable, piercing, and so tranquil".[189] During their short conversation, Guevara pointed out to Cortez the poor condition of the schoolhouse, stating that it was "anti-pedagogical" to expect campesino students to be educated there, while "government officials drive Mercedes cars", and declaring "that's what we are fighting against."[189]

Later that morning on October 9, Bolivian President René Barrientos ordered that Guevara be killed. The order was relayed by Félix Rodríguez despite the U.S. government’s desire that Guevara be taken to Panama for further interrogation.[190] The executioner was Mario Terán, a half-drunken sergeant in the Bolivian army who had requested to shoot Che on the basis of the fact that three of his friends from B Company, all named "Mario", had been killed in an earlier firefight with Guevara's band of guerrillas.[13] To make the bullet wounds appear consistent with the story the government planned to release to the public, Félix Rodríguez ordered Terán to aim carefully to make it appear that Guevara had been killed in action during a clash with the Bolivian army.[191] Gary Prado, the Bolivian captain in command of the army company that captured Guevara, said that the reasons Barrientos ordered the immediate execution of Guevara is so there would be no possibility that Guevara would escape from prison, and also so there would be no drama in regard to a trial.[192]

A few minutes before Guevara was executed, he was asked by a Bolivian soldier if he was thinking about his own immortality. "No," he replied, "I'm thinking about the immortality of the revolution."[193] When Sergeant Terán entered the hut, Che Guevara then told his executioner, "I know you've come to kill me. Shoot, coward! You are only going to kill a man!"[194] Terán hesitated, then opened fire with his semiautomatic rifle, hitting Guevara in the arms and legs. Guevara writhed on the ground, apparently biting one of his wrists to avoid crying out. Terán then fired several times again, wounding him fatally in the chest at 1:10 pm according to Rodríguez.[194] In all, Guevara was shot nine times. This included five times in the legs, once in the right shoulder and arm, once in the chest, and finally in the throat.[189]

Months earlier, during his last public declaration to the Tricontinental Conference,[151] Guevara wrote his own epitaph, stating "Wherever death may surprise us, let it be welcome, provided that this our battle cry may have reached some receptive ear and another hand may be extended to wield our weapons."[195]

Post-execution, remains and memorial[link]

File:FreddyAlbertoChe.jpg
The day after his execution on October 10, 1967, Guevara's corpse was displayed to the world press in the laundry house of the Vallegrande hospital. (photo by Freddy Alborta)
    Camera-photo.svg    Face     Side angle    Shoes

After his execution, Guevara's body was lashed to the landing skids of a helicopter and flown to nearby Vallegrande, where photographs were taken of him lying on a concrete slab in the laundry room of the Nuestra Señora de Malta.[196] Several witnesses were called to confirm that it was Guevara, key amongst them British journalist Richard Gott, the only witness to have met Guevara when he was alive.

Put on public show as hundreds of local residents filed past the body, Guevara's corpse was considered by many to represent a "Christ-like" visage, with some even surreptitiously clipping locks of his hair as divine relics.[197] Such comparisons were further extended when English art critic John Berger, two weeks later upon seeing the post-mortem photographs, observed that they resembled two famous paintings: Rembrandt's The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp and Andrea Mantegna's Lamentation over the Dead Christ.[198] There were also four correspondents present when Guevara's body arrived in Vallegrande, including Bjorn Kumm of the Swedish Aftonbladet, who described the scene in an November 11, 1967 exclusive for The New Republic.[199]

A declassified memorandum dated October 11, 1967 to United States President Lyndon B. Johnson from his National Security Advisor Walt Whitman Rostow, called the decision to kill Guevara "stupid" but "understandable from a Bolivian standpoint".[200] After the execution Rodríguez took several of Guevara's personal items—including a Rolex GMT Master wristwatch[201] that he continued to wear many years later—often showing them to reporters during the ensuing years.Today some of these belongings, including his flashlight, are on display at the CIA.[202] After a military doctor amputated his hands, Bolivian army officers transferred Guevara's body to an undisclosed location and refused to reveal whether his remains had been buried or cremated. The hands were preserved in formaldehyde to be sent to Buenos Aires for fingerprint identification. (His fingerprints were on file with the Argentine police.) They were later sent to Cuba.

Plaza de la Revolución, in Havana, Cuba. Aside the Ministry of the Interior building where Guevara once worked, is a 5 story steel outline of his face. Under the image is Guevara's motto, the Spanish phrase: "Hasta la Victoria Siempre" (English: Until the Eternal Victory).

On October 15 Fidel Castro publicly acknowledged that Guevara was dead and proclaimed three days of public mourning throughout Cuba.[203] On October 18 Castro addressed a crowd of one million mourners in Havana's Plaza de la Revolución and spoke about Guevara's character as a revolutionary.[204] Fidel Castro closed his impassioned eulogy thusly:

"If we wish to express what we want the men of future generations to be, we must say: Let them be like Che! If we wish to say how we want our children to be educated, we must say without hesitation: We want them to be educated in Che’s spirit! If we want the model of a man, who does not belong to our times but to the future, I say from the depths of my heart that such a model, without a single stain on his conduct, without a single stain on his action, is Che!"[205]

French intellectual Régis Debray, who was captured in April 1967 while with Guevara in Bolivia, gave an interview from prison in August 1968, in which he enlarged on the circumstances of Guevara's capture. Debray, who had lived with Guevara's band of guerrillas for a short time, said that in his view they were "victims of the forest" and thus "eaten by the jungle".[206] Debray described a destitute situation where Guevara's men suffered malnutrition, lack of water, absence of shoes, and only possessed six blankets for 22 men. Debray recounts that Guevara and the others had been suffering an "illness" which caused their hands and feet to swell into "mounds of flesh" to the point where you could not discern the fingers on their hands.[206] Debray described Guevara as "optimistic about the future of Latin America" despite the futile situation, and remarked that Guevara was "resigned to die in the knowledge that his death would be a sort of renaissance", noting that Guevara perceived death "as a promise of rebirth" and "ritual of renewal".[206]

In late 1995 retired Bolivian General Mario Vargas revealed to Jon Lee Anderson, author of Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life, that Guevara's body was located near a Vallegrande airstrip. The result was a multi-national search for the remains, which would last more than a year. In July 1997 a team of Cuban geologists and Argentine forensic anthropologists discovered the remnants of seven bodies in two mass graves, including one man with amputated hands (like Guevara). Bolivian government officials with the Ministry of Interior later identified the body as Guevara when the excavated teeth "perfectly matched" a plaster mold of Che's teeth made in Cuba prior to his Congolese expedition. The "clincher" then arrived when Argentine forensic anthropologist Alejandro Inchaurregui inspected the inside hidden pocket of a blue jacket dug up next to the handless cadaver and found a small bag of pipe tobacco. Nino de Guzman, the Bolivian helicopter pilot who had given Che a small bag of tobacco, later remarked that he "had serious doubts" at first and "thought the Cubans would just find any old bones and call it Che"; but "after hearing about the tobacco pouch, I have no doubts."[188] On October 17, 1997, Guevara's remains, with those of six of his fellow combatants, were laid to rest with military honors in a specially built mausoleum in the Cuban city of Santa Clara, where he had commanded over the decisive military victory of the Cuban Revolution.[207]

Removed when Guevara was captured were his 30,000-word, hand-written diary, a collection of his personal poetry, and a short story he had authored about a young Communist guerrilla who learns to overcome his fears.[208] His diary documented events of the guerrilla campaign in Bolivia[209], with the first entry on November 7, 1966, shortly after his arrival at the farm in Ñancahuazú, and the last dated October 7, 1967, the day before his capture. The diary tells how the guerrillas were forced to begin operations prematurely because of discovery by the Bolivian Army, explains Guevara's decision to divide the column into two units that were subsequently unable to re-establish contact, and describes their overall unsuccessful venture. It also records the rift between Guevara and the Communist Party of Bolivia that resulted in Guevara having significantly fewer soldiers than originally expected, and shows that Guevara had a great deal of difficulty recruiting from the local populace, partly because of the fact that the guerrilla group had learned Quechua, unaware that the local language was actually a Tupí–Guaraní language.[210] As the campaign drew to an unexpected close, Guevara became increasingly ill. He suffered from ever-worsening bouts of asthma, and most of his last offensives were carried out in an attempt to obtain medicine.[211]

The Bolivian Diary was quickly and crudely translated by Ramparts magazine and circulated around the world.[212] There are at least four additional diaries in existence—those of Israel Reyes Zayas (Alias "Braulio"), Harry Villegas Tamayo ("Pombo"), Eliseo Reyes Rodriguez ("Rolando")[174] and Dariel Alarcón Ramírez ("Benigno")[213]—each of which reveals additional aspects of the events. In July 2008 the Bolivian government of Evo Morales unveiled Guevara's formerly sealed diaries composed in two frayed notebooks, along with a logbook and several black-and-white photographs. At this event Bolivia's vice-minister of culture, Pablo Groux, expressed that there were plans to publish photographs of every handwritten page later in the year.[214] Meanwhile, in August 2009 anthropologists working for Bolivia's Justice Ministry discovered and unearthed five of Guevara's fellow guerrillas near the Bolivian town of Teoponte.[215]

Legacy[link]

"The discovery of Che’s remains metonymically activated a series of interlinked associations – rebel, martyr, rogue figure from a picaresque adventure, savior, renegade, extremist – in which there was no fixed divide among them. The current court of opinion places Che on a continuum that teeters between viewing him as a misguided rebel, a coruscatingly brilliant guerrilla philosopher, a poet-warrior jousting at windmills, a brazen warrior who threw down the gauntlet to the bourgeoisie, the object of fervent paeans to his sainthood, or a mass murderer clothed in the guise of an avenging angel whose every action is imbricated in violence – the archetypal Fanatical Terrorist."

Dr. Peter McLaren, author of Che Guevara, Paulo Freire, and the Pedagogy of Revolution [216]

A stylized graphic of Guevara's face on a flag above the words "El Che Vive" (The Che Lives).

Over forty years after his execution, Che's life and legacy still remain a contentious issue. The contradictions of his ethos at various points in his life have created a complex character of unending duality.

An array of notable individuals have lauded Guevara as a hero;[217] for example, Nelson Mandela referred to him as "an inspiration for every human being who loves freedom"[183], while Jean-Paul Sartre described him as "not only an intellectual but also the most complete human being of our age".[218] Others who have expressed their admiration include authors Graham Greene, who remarked that Che "represented the idea of gallantry, chivalry, and adventure",[219] and Susan Sontag, who expounded that "[Che's] goal was nothing less than the cause of humanity itself."[220] In the black community, philosopher Frantz Fanon professed Guevara to be "the world symbol of the possibilities of one man",[221] while Black Panther Party head Stokely Carmichael eulogized that "Che Guevara is not dead, his ideas are with us."[222] Praise has been reflected throughout the political spectrum, with the libertarian theorist Murray Rothbard extolling Guevara as a "heroic figure", lamenting after his death that "more than any man of our epoch or even of our century, [Che] was the living embodiment of the principle of revolution",[223] while journalist Christopher Hitchens commented that "[Che's] death meant a lot to me and countless like me at the time, he was a role model, albeit an impossible one for us bourgeois romantics insofar as he went and did what revolutionaries were meant to do—fought and died for his beliefs."[224] Guevara remains a beloved national hero to many in Cuba, where his image adorns the $3 Cuban peso and school children begin each morning by pledging "We will be like Che."[225] In his homeland of Argentina, where high schools bear his name,[226] numerous Che museums dot the country, which in 2008 unveiled a 12-foot (3.7 m) bronze statue of him in the city of his birth, Rosario.[227] Additionally, Guevara has been sanctified by some Bolivian campesinos[228] as "Saint Ernesto", to whom they pray for assistance.[229]

Conversely, Jacobo Machover, an exiled opposition author, dismisses the hero-worshipping and portrays him as a ruthless executioner.[230] Detractors have theorized that Che-inspired revolutions in much of Latin America had the practical result of reinforcing brutal militarism and internecine conflict for many years.[231] In an assessment of Guevara, British historian Hugh Thomas opines that Che was a "brave, sincere and determined man who was also obstinate, narrow, and dogmatic."[232] At the end of his life, according to Thomas, "he seems to have become convinced of the virtues of violence for its own sake", while "his influence over Castro for good or evil" grew after his death, as Fidel took up many of his views. In Thomas' assessment, "As in the case of Martí, or Lawrence of Arabia, failure has brightened, not dimmed the legend."[232] Alvaro Vargas Llosa of The Independent Institute has hypothesized that Guevara’s contemporary followers "delude themselves by clinging to a myth", while describing Guevara as "Marxist Puritan" who employed his rigid power to suppress dissent, while also operating as a "cold-blooded killing machine".[231] Llosa has also accused Guevara's "fanatical disposition" as being the linchpin of the "Sovietization" of the Cuban revolution, speculating that he possessed a "total subordination of reality to blind ideological orthodoxy".[231] Guevara remains a hated figure amongst many in the Cuban exile and Cuban-American community of the United States, who view him with animosity as "the butcher of La Cabaña".[233]

Despite his polarized status, a high-contrast monochrome graphic of his face, created in 1968 by Irish artist Jim Fitzpatrick, has become one of the world's most universally merchandized and objectified images,[234][235] found on an endless array of items, including T-shirts, hats, posters, tattoos, and bikinis,[236] ironically contributing to the consumer culture Guevara despised. Yet, he still remains a transcendent figure both in specifically political contexts[237] and as a wide-ranging popular icon of youthful rebellion.[238]

Timeline[link]

Archival media[link]

Video footage[link]

  • Guevara addressing the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 1964, (6:21), public domain footage uploaded by the U.N., Video Clip
  • Guevara interviewed in 1964 on a visit to Dublin, Ireland, (2:53), English translation, from RTÉ Libraries and Archives, Video Clip
  • Guevara reciting a poem, (0:58), English subtitles, from El Che: Investigating a Legend – Kultur Video 2001, Video Clip
  • Guevara showing support for Fidel Castro, (0:22), English subtitles, from El Che: Investigating a Legend – Kultur Video 2001, Video Clip
  • Guevara speaking about labor, (0:28), English subtitles, from El Che: Investigating a Legend – Kultur Video 2001, Video Clip
  • Guevara speaking about the Bay of Pigs, (0:17), English subtitles, from El Che: Investigating a Legend – Kultur Video 2001, Video Clip
  • Guevara speaking against imperialism, (1:20), English subtitles, from El Che: Investigating a Legend – Kultur Video 2001, Video Clip

Audio recording[link]

List of works[link]

Originally written in Spanish by Ernesto "Che" Guevara, later translated into English

See also[link]

References[link]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 The date of birth recorded on his birth certificate was June 14, 1928, although one tertiary source, (Julia Constenla, quoted by Jon Lee Anderson), asserts that he was actually born on May 14 of that year. Constenla alleges that she was told by an unidentified astrologer that his mother, Celia de la Serna, was already pregnant when she and Ernesto Guevara Lynch were married and that the date on the birth certificate of their son was forged to make it appear that he was born a month later than the actual date to avoid scandal. (Anderson 1997, pp. 3, 769.)
  2. Partido Unido de la Revolución Socialista de Cuba, aka PURSC.
  3. The Spark That Does Not Die by Michael Löwy, International Viewpoint, July 1997
  4. McLaren 2000, p. 78.
  5. Embodiment and Agency, by Sue Campbell & Letitia Meynell, Penn State Press, 2009, ISBN 0-271-03522-6, p. 243
  6. 6.0 6.1 Unknown, Autor. "Guevara, Che". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. http://members.eb.com/bol/topic?eu=39170&sctn=1. Retrieved 30 September 2001. 
  7. The various sound clips on this site of international Spanish speakers: Forvo.com pronounce the G in the name "Guevara" as [ɡ] or [ɣ] depending on how carefully they enunciate. When the names are spoken together, it is [ɣ]; when enunciated separately, [ɡ].
  8. Casey 2009, p. 128.
  9. 9.0 9.1 On Revolutionary Medicine Speech by Che Guevara to the Cuban Militia on August 19, 1960.
  10. At the Afro-Asian Conference in Algeria A speech by Che Guevara to the Second Economic Seminar of Afro-Asian Solidarity in Algiers, Algeria on February 24, 1965.
  11. Beaubien, NPR Audio Report, 2009, 00:09–00:13.
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 "Castro's Brain" 1960.
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 Taibo 1999, p. 267.
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 Kellner 1989, pp. 69–70.
  15. Anderson 1997, pp. 526–530.
  16. Ryan 1998, p. 4.
  17. Dorfman 1999.
  18. Maryland Institute of Art, referenced at BBC News May 26, 2001.
  19. Che's last name "Guevara" derives from the Castilianized form of the Basque "Gebara", a habitational name from the province of Álava. Through his grandmother, Ana Lynch, he was a descendant of Patrick Lynch, an emigrant from Galway, Ireland in the 1740s.
  20. Lavretsky 1976.
  21. Kellner 1989, p. 23.
  22. Argentina: Che's Red Mother Time Magazine, July 14, 1961.
  23. Anderson 1997, pp. 22–23.
  24. Sandison 1996, p. 8.
  25. Kellner 1989, p. 24.
  26. Argentine Rugby Inspired by Che Guevara by Brendan Gallagher, The Daily Telegraph, October 5, 2007
  27. Cain, Nick & Growden, Greg "Chapter 21: Ten Peculiar Facts about Rugby" in Rugby Union for Dummies (2nd Edition), John Wiley and Sons, ISBN 978-0-470-03537-5, p. 293.
  28. Anderson 1997, p. 28.
  29. 29.0 29.1 Hart 2004, p. 98.
  30. Haney 2005, p. 164.
  31. 31.0 31.1 31.2 31.3 31.4 (Anderson 1997, pp. 37–38).
  32. Sandison 1996, p. 10.
  33. Kellner 1989, p. 26.
  34. Ratner 1997, p. 25.
  35. Anderson 1997, p. 64.
  36. Anderson 1997, p. 59-64.
  37. Anderson 1997, p. 89.
  38. Anderson 1997, p. 75-76.
  39. 39.0 39.1 Kellner 1989, p. 27.
  40. NYT bestseller list: #38 Paperback Nonfiction on 2005-02-20, #9 Nonfiction on 2004-10-07 and on more occasions.
  41. Anderson 1997, p. 98.
  42. A copy of Guevara's University transcripts showing conferral of his medical diploma can be found on p. 75 of Becoming Che: Guevara's Second and Final Trip through Latin America, by Carlos 'Calica' Ferrer (Translated from the Spanish by Sarah L. Smith), Marea Editorial, 2006, ISBN 987-1307-07-1. Ferrer was a longtime childhood friend of Che, and when Guevara passed the last of his 12 exams in 1953, he gave him a copy to prove to Ferrer, who had been telling Guevara that he would never finish, that he had finally completed his studies.
  43. A Very Modern Icon by George Galloway, New Statesman, June 12, 2006
  44. Anderson 1997, p. 126.
  45. Taibo 1999, p. 31.
  46. Kellner 1989, p. 31.
  47. 47.0 47.1 Guevara Lynch 2000, p. 26.
  48. Ignacio 2007, p. 172.
  49. Anderson 1997, p. 144.
  50. 50.0 50.1 Kellner 1989, p. 32.
  51. Taibo 1999, p. 39.
  52. Snow, Anita. "'My Life With Che' by Hilda Gadea". Associated Press at WJXX-TV. August 16, 2008. Retrieved on February 23, 2009.
  53. Che Guevara 1960–67 by Frank E. Smitha.
  54. Sinclair, Andrew (1970). Che Guevara. The Viking Press. p. 12. 
  55. Kellner 1989, p. 33.
  56. 56.0 56.1 Rebel Wife, A Review of My Life With Che: The Making of a Revolutionary by Hilda Gadea by Tom Gjelten, The Washington Post, October 12, 2008.
  57. Taibo 1999, p. 55.
  58. Fidel and Che: A Revolutionary Friendship by Simon Reid-Henry audio slideshow by The Guardian, January 9, 2009
  59. Sandison 1996, p. 28.
  60. Kellner 1989, p. 37.
  61. Anderson 1997, p. 194.
  62. Anderson 1997, p. 213.
  63. Sandison 1996, p. 32.
  64. DePalma 2006, pp. 110–111.
  65. 65.0 65.1 65.2 Latin lessons: What can we Learn from the World’s most Ambitious Literacy Campaign? by The Independent, November 7, 2010
  66. Kellner 1989, p. 45.
  67. Anderson 1997, pp. 269–270.
  68. Castañeda 1998, pp. 105, 119.
  69. Anderson 1997, pp. 237–238, 269–270, 277–278.
  70. 70.0 70.1 70.2 Luther 2001, pp. 97–99.
  71. 71.0 71.1 71.2 Anderson 1997, 237.
  72. Sandison 1996, p. 35.
  73. Ignacio 2007, p. 177.
  74. Ignacio 2007, p. 193.
  75. Poster Boy of The Revolution by Saul Landau, The Washington Post, October 19, 1997, p. X01.
  76. Moore, Don. "Revolution! Clandestine Radio and the Rise of Fidel Castro". Patepluma Radio. http://www.pateplumaradio.com/central/cuba/rebel1.html. 
  77. Bockman 1984.
  78. Kellner 1989, p. 40.
  79. 79.0 79.1 Kellner 1989, p. 47.
  80. Castro 1972, pp. 439–442.
  81. Dorschner 1980, pp. 41–47, 81–87.
  82. Sandison 1996, p. 39.
  83. Kellner 1989, p. 48.
  84. Kellner 1989, p. 13.
  85. Castañeda, pp. 145–146.
  86. 86.0 86.1 Castañeda, p. 146.
  87. Anderson 1997, 397.
  88. Anderson 1997, pp. 400–401.
  89. Anderson 1997, p. 424.
  90. Castañeda, p. 159.
  91. (Castañeda 1998, pp. 264–265).
  92. 92.0 92.1 Skidmore 2008, pp. 273.
  93. Gómez Treto 1991, p. 115. "The Penal Law of the War of Independence (July 28, 1896) was reinforced by Rule 1 of the Penal Regulations of the Rebel Army, approved in the Sierra Maestra February 21, 1958, and published in the army's official bulletin (Ley penal de Cuba en armas, 1959)" (Gómez Treto 1991, p. 123).
  94. Gómez Treto 1991, pp. 115–116.
  95. Anderson 1997, pp. 372, 425.
  96. Anderson 1997, p. 376.
  97. Niess 2007, p. 60.
  98. Gómez Treto 1991, p. 116.
  99. Anderson 1997, p. 388.
  100. Rally For Castro: One Million Roar "Si" To Cuba Executions – Video Clip by Universal-International News, narrated by Ed Herlihy, from January 22, 1959
  101. Niess 2007, p. 61.
  102. 102.0 102.1 102.2 Castañeda 1998, pp. 143–144.
  103. The Legacy of Che Guevara – a PBS online forum with author Jon Lee Anderson, November 20, 1997
  104. Different sources cite differing numbers of executions attributable to Guevara, with some of the discrepancy resulting from the question of which deaths to attribute directly to Guevara and which to the regime as a whole. Anderson (1997) gives the number specifically at La Cabaña prison as 55 (p. 387.), while also stating that "several hundred people were officially tried and executed across Cuba" as a whole (p. 387). (Castañeda 1998) notes that historians differ on the total number killed, with different studies placing it as anywhere from 200 to 700 nationwide (p. 143), although he notes that "after a certain date most of the executions occurred outside of Che's jurisdiction" (p. 143). These numbers are supported by the opposition-based Free Society Project / Cuba Archive, which gives the figure as 144 executions ordered by Guevara across Cuba in three years (1957–1959) and 105 "victims" specifically at La Cabaña, which according to them were all "carried out without due process of law". Of further note, much of the discrepancy in the estimates between 55 versus 105 executed at La Cabaña revolves around whether to include instances where Guevara had denied an appeal and signed off on a death warrant, but where the sentence was carried out while he traveled overseas from June 4 to September 8, or after he relinquished his command of the fortress on June 12, 1959.
  105. Anderson 1997, p. 375.
  106. Kellner 1989, p. 54.
  107. Kellner 1989, p. 57.
  108. 108.0 108.1 108.2 Kellner 1989, p. 58.
  109. Taibo 1999, p. 282-285.
  110. Anderson 1997, p. 423.
  111. 111.0 111.1 Anderson 1997, p. 431.
  112. Taibo 1999, p. 300.
  113. Che Guevara's Daughter Visits Bomb Memorial in Hiroshima by The Japan Times, May 16, 2008
  114. 114.0 114.1 Anderson 1997, p. 435.
  115. Casey 2009, p. 25.
  116. Casey 2009, pp. 25–50.
  117. 117.0 117.1 Kellner 1989, p. 55.
  118. 118.0 118.1 118.2 118.3 Kellner 1989, p. 61.
  119. Latin America's New Look at Che by Daniel Schweimler, BBC News, October 9, 2007.
  120. 120.0 120.1 Anderson 1997, pp. 449
  121. Man and Socialism in Cuba by Che Guevara
  122. 122.0 122.1 Crompton 2009, p. 71.
  123. 123.0 123.1 Kellner 1989, p. 60.
  124. Dumur 1964 a 1964 video interview of Che Guevara speaking French (with English subtitles).
  125. 125.0 125.1 125.2 125.3 "Socialism and Man in Cuba" A letter to Carlos Quijano, editor of Marcha, a weekly published in Montevideo, Uruguay; published as "From Algiers, for Marcha: The Cuban Revolution Today" by Che Guevara on March 12, 1965.
  126. 126.0 126.1 126.2 126.3 126.4 Kellner 1989, p. 62.
  127. Kellner 1989, p. 59.
  128. PBS: Che Guevara, Popular but Ineffective.
  129. Kellner 1989, p. 75.
  130. Latin America Report. Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS). 1984–03–23. p. 24. http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf&AD=ADA351284. Retrieved 2010-10-30. 
  131. Kellner 1989, p. 63.
  132. Kellner 1989, p. 74.
  133. The Spirit of Che Guevara by I.F. Stone, New Statesman, October 20, 1967.
  134. Anderson 1997, p. 507.
  135. Jones, Nate. "Document Friday: Che Guevara Thanks the United States for the Bay of Pigs Invasion". NSA Archive. http://nsarchive.wordpress.com/2012/02/03/document-friday-che-guevara-thanks-the-united-states-for-the-bay-of-pigs-invasion/. Retrieved May 4, 2012. 
  136. Anderson 1997, p. 509.
  137. 137.0 137.1 "Economics Cannot be Separated from Politics" speech by Che Guevara to the ministerial meeting of the Inter-American Economic and Social Council (CIES), in Punta del Este, Uruguay on August 8, 1961.
  138. Anderson 1997, p. 492.
  139. Anderson 1997, p. 530.
  140. Anderson 1997, p. 545.
  141. Guevara 1997, pp 304
  142. Kellner 1989, p. 73.
  143. 143.0 143.1 143.2 143.3 143.4 "Colonialism is Doomed" speech to the 19th General Assembly of the United Nations in New York City by Cuban representative Che Guevara on December 11, 1964.
  144. 144.0 144.1 144.2 Bazooka Fired at U.N. as Cuban Speaks by Homer Bigart, The New York Times, December 12, 1964 – p. 1.
  145. Hart 2004, p. 271.
  146. Anderson 1997, p. 618.
  147. "Che Guevara: Father Of Revolution, Son Of Galway". Fantompowa.net. http://www.fantompowa.net/Flame/che_guevara_irish_roots.htm. Retrieved 2010-10-31. 
  148. Gerry Adams Featured in New Che Guevara Documentary by Kenneth Haynes, Irish Central, September 8, 2009
  149. Guevara 1969, p. 350.
  150. Guevara 1969, pp. 352–59.
  151. 151.0 151.1 Message to the Tricontinental A letter sent by Che Guevara from his jungle camp in Bolivia, to the Tricontinental Solidarity Organisation in Havana, Cuba, in the Spring of 1967.
  152. Che Guevara's Final Verdict on the Soviet Economy by John Riddell, Centre for Research on Globalization, June 13, 2008.
  153. 153.0 153.1 153.2 153.3 153.4 Ernesto 'Che' Guevara: A Rebel Against Soviet Political Economy by Helen Yaffe (author of Che Guevara: The Economics of Revolution), 2006
  154. Guevara 1965.
  155. Ben Bella 1997.
  156. Anderson 1997, p. 624.
  157. Anderson 1997, p. 629.
  158. Gálvez 1999, p. 62.
  159. Gott 2004 p. 219.
  160. Kellner 1989, p. 86.
  161. DR Congo's Rebel-Turned-Brain Surgeon by Mark Doyle, BBC World Affairs', December 13, 2005.
  162. BBC News January 17, 2001.
  163. "The intercept operators knew that Dar-es-Salaam was serving as a communications center for the fighters, receiving messages from Castro in Cuba and relaying them on to the guerrillas deep in the bush (Bamford 2002, p. 181).
  164. Ireland's Own 2000.
  165. Kellner 1989, p. 87.
  166. From Cuba to Congo, Dream to Disaster for Che Guevara by The Guardian, August 12, 2000
  167. Guevara 2000, p. 1.
  168. Castañeda 1998, p. 316.
  169. Che Guevara’s Central Bohemian Hideaway article and audio by Ian Willoughby, Český rozhlas, June 27, 2010
  170. Guevara 2009, p. 167.
  171. Mittleman 1981, p. 38.
  172. Jacobson, Sid and Ernie Colón. Che: A Graphic Biography. Hill and Wang, 2009. 96–97.
  173. Jacobson, Sid and Ernie Colón. Che: A Graphic Biography. Hill and Wang, 2009. 98.
  174. 174.0 174.1 Selvage 1985.
  175. Anderson 1997, p. 693.
  176. Members of Che Guevara's Guerrilla Movement in Bolivia by the Latin American Studies Organization
  177. Kellner 1989, p. 97.
  178. U.S. Army 1967 and Ryan 1998, pp. 82–102, inter alia. "U.S. military personnel in Bolivia never exceeded 53 advisers, including a sixteen-man Mobile Training Team (MTT) from the 8th Special Forces Group based at Fort Gulick, Panama Canal Zone" (Selvage 1985).
  179. "Bidding for Che", Time Magazine, Dec. 15, 1967.
  180. Guevara 1972.
  181. Castañeda 1998, pp. 107–112; 131–132.
  182. Wright 2000, p. 86.
  183. 183.0 183.1 Guevara 2009, p. II.
  184. Shadow Warrior: The CIA Hero of 100 Unknown Battles, Felix Rodriguez and John Weisman, Simon & Schuster, October 1989.
  185. Barbie "Boasted of Hunting Down Che" by David Smith, The Observer, December 23, 2007.
  186. Green Beret Behind the Capture of Che Guevara by Richard Gott, The Age, September 8, 2010
  187. Anderson 1997, p. 733.
  188. 188.0 188.1 "The Man Who Buried Che" by Juan O. Tamayo, Miami Herald, September 19, 1997.
  189. 189.0 189.1 189.2 189.3 189.4 Ray, Michèle (March 1968). "In Cold Blood: The Execution of Che by the CIA". Ramparts Magazine: 33. 
  190. Grant 2007
  191. Grant 2007. René Barrientos has never revealed his motives for ordering the summary execution of Guevara rather than putting him on trial or expelling him from the country or turning him over to the U.S. authorities.
  192. Almudevar, Lola. "Bolivia marks capture, execution of 'Che' Guevara 40 years ago." San Francisco Chronicle. Tuesday October 9, 2007. Retrieved on November 7, 2009.
  193. Time magazine 1970.
  194. 194.0 194.1 Anderson 1997, p. 739.
  195. Obituary: Che Guevara, Marxist Architect of Revolution by Richard Bourne, The Guardian, October 11, 1967
  196. Almudevar 2007 and Gott 2005.
  197. Casey 2009, p. 179.
  198. Casey 2009, p. 183.
  199. The Death of Che Guevara by Bjorn Kumm, The New Republic, Originally published on November 11, 1967.
  200. Lacey 2007a.
  201. Watch blog image of Guevara's GMT Master.
  202. Kornbluh 1997.
  203. Anderson 1997, p. 740.
  204. Anderson 1997, p. 741.
  205. Kellner 1989, p. 101.
  206. 206.0 206.1 206.2 Nadle, Marlene (August 24, 1968). "Régis Debray Speaks from Prison". Ramparts Magazine: 42. 
  207. Cuba salutes 'Che' Guevara: Revolutionary Icon Finally Laid to Rest CNN, October 17, 1997
  208. "Bidding for Che", Time Magazine, Dec. 15, 1967.
  209. Guevara 1967b.
  210. Ryan 1998, p. 45.
  211. Ryan 1998, p. 104.
  212. Ryan 1998, p. 148.
  213. Ramírez 1997.
  214. Bolivia unveils original Che Guevara diary by Eduardo Garcia, Reuters, July 7, 2008.
  215. Slain Che Guevara Soldiers Found? video report by National Geographic, August 21, 2009.
  216. McLaren 2000, p. 7.
  217. Che's Second Coming? by David Rieff, November 20, 2005, New York Times.
  218. Moynihan 2006.
  219. Sinclair 1968 / 2006, p. 80.
  220. Sinclair 1968 / 2006, p. 127.
  221. McLaren 2000, p. 3.
  222. Sinclair 1968 / 2006, p. 67.
  223. Ernesto Che Guevara R.I.P. by Murray Rothbard, Left and Right: A Journal of Libertarian Thought, Volume 3, Number 3 (Spring-Autumn 1967).
  224. Just a Pretty Face? by Sean O'Hagan, The Observer, July 11, 2004.
  225. People's Weekly 2004.
  226. Argentina pays belated homage to "Che" Guevara by Helen Popper, Reuters, June 14, 2008.
  227. Statue for Che's '80th birthday' by Daniel Schweimler, BBC News, June 15, 2008.
  228. On a tourist trail in Bolivia's hills, Che's fame lives on By Hector Tobar, Los Angeles Times, October 17, 2004.
  229. Schipani 2007.
  230. Behind Che Guevara’s mask, the cold executioner Times Online, September 16, 2007.
  231. 231.0 231.1 231.2 Vargas Llosa 2005.
  232. 232.0 232.1 Kellner 1989, p. 106.
  233. Casey 2009, pp. 325 & 235.
  234. BBC News May 26, 2001.
  235. see also Che Guevara (photo).
  236. Lacey 2007b.
  237. BBC News 2007.
  238. O'Hagan 2004.

Notes and Further Reading[link]

External links[link]

http://wn.com/Che_Guevara



Benicio del Toro

Benicio del Toro at Cannes 2008
Born Benicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez
(1967-02-19) February 19, 1967 (age 45)
Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Occupation Actor, producer
Years active 1987–present

Benicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez (born February 19, 1967) is a Puerto Rican actor and film producer. He won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a BAFTA Award for his role as Javier Rodríguez in Traffic (2000). He is also known for his roles as Fred Fenster in The Usual Suspects (1995), Dr. Gonzo in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), Franky Four Fingers in Snatch (2000), Jackie Boy in Sin City (2005), and Che Guevara in Che (2008). He is the third Puerto Rican to win an Academy Award.

Contents

Early life[link]

Benicio del Toro was born in San German, on the southwest side of the island of Puerto Rico, and grew up in Santurce, a district of San Juan. He is the son of Gustavo Adolfo del Toro Bermúdez and Fausta Genoveva Sánchez Rivera, who were both lawyers, and deeply respected and beloved in Puerto Rico for their commitment to their community. Gustavo Del Toro was affectionately called the "lawyer of the poor". Many of Del Toro's relatives are involved in the island's legal system. [1] He has an older brother, Gustavo, who was a pediatric oncologist at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City.[2][3] He is of Spanish descent through a Catalan paternal great-grandfather and a Basque maternal great-grandmother,[4] he has Italian and Amerindian ancestry as well.[5] The surname del Toro (Touro) is of Sephardic origin. Benicio del Toro is related to Puerto Rican basketball player Carlos Arroyo, his father Gustavo is a cousin of Arroyo's mother, Gloria Bermudez. Del Toro is also related to Spanish Euro-pop singer Rebeca Pous Del Toro, whose grandfather is Puerto Rican, and Puerto Rican singer Eliseo del Toro.

Del Toro, whose childhood nicknames were "Skinny Benny" and "Beno", was raised a Roman Catholic[6][7] and he attended Academia del Perpetuo Socorro (The Academy of Our Lady of Perpetual Help), a Roman Catholic school in Miramar, Puerto Rico.[8][9] When del Toro was nine years old, his mother died of hepatitis.[2] At age 12, he moved with his father and brother to Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, where he was enrolled at the Mercersburg Academy. He spent his adolescence and attended high school there.[10] After graduation, del Toro followed the advice of his father and pursued a degree in business at the University of California, San Diego.[10] Success in an elective drama course encouraged him to drop out of college and study with noted acting teachers Stella Adler and Arthur Mendoza, in Los Angeles, as well as at the Circle in the Square Theatre School, in New York City.[10]

Career[link]

Del Toro began to surface in small television parts during the late 1980s, playing mostly thugs and drug dealers on programs such as Miami Vice and the NBC miniseries Drug Wars: The Camarena Story. He had a cameo in Madonna's 1987 music video clip "La Isla Bonita" as a background character (the kid sitting on the car). Work in films followed, beginning with his debut in Big Top Pee-wee and in the 007 film Licence to Kill,[10] in which 21-year-old del Toro held the distinction of being the youngest actor ever to play a Bond henchman. Del Toro continued to appear in movies including The Indian Runner (1991), China Moon (1994), Christopher Columbus: The Discovery (1992), Money for Nothing (1993), Fearless (1993) and Swimming with Sharks (1994).

His career gained momentum in 1995 with his breakout performance in The Usual Suspects, where he played the mumbling, wisecracking Fred Fenster.[10] The role won him an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actor and established him as a character actor. This led to more strong roles in independent and major studio films, including playing Gaspare in Abel Ferrara's The Funeral (1996) and winning a second consecutive Best Supporting Actor Independent Spirit Award for his work as Benny Dalmau in Basquiat (1996), directed by his friend, artist Julian Schnabel. Del Toro also shared the screen with Robert De Niro in the big budget thriller The Fan, in which he played Juan Primo, a charismatic Puerto Rican baseball star.

For Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, the 1998 film adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson's famous book, he gained more than 40 lbs. (about 18 kg) to play Dr. Gonzo (a.k.a. Oscar Zeta Acosta), Thompson's lawyer and drug-fiend cohort.[10] The surrealistic film, directed by Terry Gilliam, has earned a cult following over the years. Returning from a two-year hiatus after Fear and Loathing, del Toro would gain a mainstream audience in 2000 with a string of performances in four high-profile films. First up was The Way of the Gun, a crime yarn that reunited him with The Usual Suspects screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie, making his directorial debut. A few months later, he stood out among a first-rate ensemble cast in Steven Soderbergh's Traffic, a complex dissection of the North American drug wars. As Javier Rodriguez —a Mexican border cop struggling to remain honest amid the corruption and deception of illegal drug trafficking —del Toro, who spoke most of his lines in Spanish, gave a performance that dominated the film.[10]

His performance swept all of the major critics awards in 2001. Del Toro won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, becoming the fourth living Oscar winner whose winning role was a character who speaks predominantly in a foreign language. Del Toro is also the third Puerto Rican actor to win an Oscar, after Jose Ferrer and Rita Moreno.[10] The night he won his Oscar marked first time that two actors born in Puerto Rico were nominated in the same category (the other actor was Joaquin Phoenix). In his acceptance speech, del Toro thanked the people of both Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Sonora and dedicated his award to them. In addition to the Oscar, he also won the Golden Globe Award and the Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Traffic was also a success at the box office, bringing to del Toro real Hollywood clout for the first time in his career. While Traffic was still playing in theaters, two other del Toro films were released in late 2000/early 2001. He had a brief role as the diamond thief Franky Four Fingers in Guy Ritchie's hip caper comedy Snatch, and played a mentally-challenged Native American man in The Pledge, directed by his old friend Sean Penn.[10]

File:CheDelToro3.jpg
Del Toro as revolutionary Che Guevara in Che (2008)

In 2003, del Toro appeared in two films: The Hunted, co-starring Tommy Lee Jones, and the drama 21 Grams, co-starring Sean Penn and Naomi Watts. He went on to garner another Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his work in the latter. He then appeared in the film adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel Sin City, directed by Robert Rodriguez, and Things We Lost in the Fire, the English language debut of celebrated Danish director Susanne Bier. Things We Lost in the Fire co-starred Halle Berry, Alison Lohman, and John Carroll Lynch.

In 2008, del Toro was awarded the Prix d'interpretation masculine (or Best Actor Award) at the Cannes Film Festival for his characterization of Che Guevara in the biographical films The Argentine and Guerrilla (together known as Che).[11] During his acceptance speech del Toro dedicated his award "to the man himself, Che Guevara" along with director Steven Soderbergh.[12] Del Toro was also awarded a 2009 Goya Award as the Best Actor for his depiction of Che.[13] Actor Sean Penn, who won an Oscar for his role in Milk, remarked that he was surprised and disappointed that Che and del Toro were not also up for any Academy Award nominations. During his acceptance speech for the Best Actor's trophy at the Screen Actors Guild Awards Penn expressed his dismay stating, "The fact that there aren't crowns on Soderbergh's and Del Toro's heads right now, I don't understand ... that is such a sensational movie, Che."[14] For the final portions of the film (shown here), del Toro shed 35 pounds to show how ill Guevara had become near the end of his life in the jungles of Bolivia.[15]

In 2010, del Toro starred in and produced the remake of Lon Chaney, Jr.'s classic cult film The Wolf Man.[16]

He was chosen to be the face of the 2011 Campari calendar, becoming the first male model to be featured in the Italian liquor company's calendar.[17][18]

Personal life[link]

Benicio is not related to Oscar-nominated director Guillermo del Toro; this is a popular misconception.

While promoting his film The Wolfman in 2010, he described his romantic life as "in limbo." When asked if he had thoughts of settling down, he responded, "Why? Everyone says, 'Why isn’t he married?' But it’s like, Fuck! Why do I have to get married? Just so I can get divorced?" In an interview with The Times he mentioned that he didn't want his West Hollywood apartment, which he described as his "cave," to be "invaded" by a wife and children.[19]

Benicio del Toro has been linked to various women through the years, including actresses Valeria Golino, Claire Forlani, Alicia Silverstone, Chiara Mastroianni, Heather Graham, and Sara Foster.

On April 11, 2011, del Toro's publicist announced that del Toro and Kimberly Stewart (daughter of Rod Stewart) were expecting their first child, although they were not in a relationship.[20] Stewart gave birth to a daughter, Delilah,[21] on August 21, 2011.[20]

In November 2011, he acquired Spanish citizenship. The request was granted by the Spanish government due to his artistic talents and his Spanish roots (he has family in Barcelona).[22]

In March 2012, he was granted a honorific degree by the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico for his impact on the cinema enterprise, during the celebration of the institution centenary.[23]

Filmography[link]

Films[link]

Year Title Role Notes
1988 Big Top Pee-Pee Duke, the Dog-Macing Boy First on-screen appearance
1989 Licence to Kill Dario
1991 Indian Runner, TheThe Indian Runner Miguel Aguilera
1992 Christopher Columbus: The Discovery Alvaro Harana
1993 Fearless Manny Rodrigo
1993 Huevos de oro Bob, the friend from Miami Also known as Golden Eggs
1993 Money for Nothing Dino Palladino
1994 Swimming with Sharks Rex
1994 China Moon Det. Lamar Dickey
1995 Usual Suspects, TheThe Usual Suspects Fred Fenster
1996 Funeral, TheThe Funeral Gaspare Spoglia
1996 Fan, TheThe Fan Juan Primo
1996 Cannes Man Himself Cameo appearance
1996 Basquiat Benny Dalmau Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male
1996 Joyride Detective López
1997 Excess Baggage Vincent Roche Nominated — ALMA Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Crossover Role in a Feature Film
1998 Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Dr. Gonzo aka Óscar Zeta Acosta
2000 Traffic Javier Rodríguez
2000 Way of the Gun, TheThe Way of the Gun Longbaugh
2000 Snatch Franky 'Four Fingers'
2000 Bread and Roses Himself Cameo
2001 Pledge, TheThe Pledge Toby Jay Wadenah Nominated — ALMA Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
2003 21 Grams Jack Jordan
2003 Hunted, TheThe Hunted Aaron Hallam
2005 Sin City Jack Rafferty Nominated — ALMA Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture
2007 Things We Lost in the Fire Jerry Sunborne
2008 Che Che Guevara Also producer
2010 Wolfman, TheThe Wolfman Lawrence Talbot/The Wolfman Also producer
2010 Somewhere Himself
2011 The Upsetter: The Life & Music of Lee Scratch Perry Narrator
2012 Savages Lado
2012 7 Days in Havana Director

Short films[link]

Year Title Role Notes
1995 Submission Director, writer and producer
2005 Trailer for a Remake of Gore Vidal's Caligula Naevius Sutorius Macro Five minutes
2005 That's So New York Himself Three minutes

Television series[link]

Year Title Role Notes
1987 Miami Vice Pito Episode: "Everybody's in Showbiz"
1987 Private Eye Episode: "Blue Movie"
1990 Drug Wars: The Cameraman Story Rafael Caro Quintero All episodes
1994 Tales from the Crypt Bill Episode: "Bribe, TheThe Bribe"
1995 Fallen Angels Paco Episode: "Good Housekeeping"
2008 Todos Contra Juan Himself Episode: "Juan & La Critica"

Selected awards[link]

Year Award Nomination Film
1995 Independent Spirit Award Best Supporting Actor win The Usual Suspects
1996 Independent Spirit Award Best Supporting Actor win Basquiat
2000 Academy Award Best Supporting Actor win Traffic
Berlin International Film Festival Silver Bear for Best Actor win Traffic
British Academy Awards (BAFTA) Best Supporting Actor win Traffic
Chicago Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actor win Traffic
Golden Globe Best Supporting Actor win Traffic
National Society of Film Critics Best Supporting Actor win Traffic
New York Film Critics Circle Best Supporting Actor win Traffic
Screen Actors Guild Best Actor win Traffic
Toronto Film Critics Association Best Actor win Traffic
2003 Academy Award Best Supporting Actor nomination 21 Grams
Chicago Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actor nomination 21 Grams
L.A. Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actor win 21 Grams
Screen Actors Guild Best Supporting Actor nomination 21 Grams
2008 Cannes Film Festival Best Actor win Che
Grammy Awards Best Actor win Chase R: The Documentary

See also[link]


References[link]

  1. Benicio DEL Toro Biography (1967-)
  2. 2.0 2.1 'Dammit, this guy is cool' - The Guardian - published 2008-11-29, retrieved 2009-06-29.
  3. Mount Sinai Faculty Practice Associates - Gustavo Del Toro
  4. Benicio del toro gets Spanish citizenship.
  5. Benicio del Toro Interview, Only available in Spanish. He says, "Yo tengo Sangre Española, Italiana y Americana", which means, I have Spanish, Italian, and American blood
  6. Feature - Features - Benicio Del Toro's "Let's Have Some Fun, Okay?" Page - Portland Mercury
  7. Mike Sager (2005-04-01). "Toro, Benicio Del". Esquire. http://www.esquire.com/ESQ0405BENICIO_102.indd_REV?click=main_sr. Retrieved 2010-10-12. 
  8. 'Traffic Stopper' - People - published 2001-04-16, retrieved 2010-05-14.
  9. 'Benicio del Toro: Mild at heart' - Irish Independent - published 2010-02-05, retrieved 2010-05-14.
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 10.7 10.8 Stated in interview on Inside the Actors Studio
  11. Associated Press (2008-05-25). "Benicio del Toro gana premio a mejor actor en Cannes" (in Spanish). Primera Hora. http://www.primerahora.com/noticia/cine/espectaculosasi/benicio_del_toro_gana_premio_a_mejor_actor_en_cannes/193848. Retrieved 2008-05-25. [dead link]
  12. Hernandez, Eugene; Brian Brooks (May 25, 2008). "Laurent Cantent's The Class Wins the Palme d'Or". indieWIRE. Archived from the original on 2008-10-24. http://replay.waybackmachine.org/20081024002551/http://www.indiewire.com/ots/2008/05/cannes_08_dispa_4.html. Retrieved 2008-05-25. 
  13. Rolfe, Pamela (February 1, 2009). "Camino Leads Goya Awards with Six Nods". Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2009-02-05. http://replay.waybackmachine.org/20090205213517/http://hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i0aa29113cef25d42d5a15097e1e8754a. Retrieved 2009-02-01. 
  14. "Penn Surprised over Toro's Absence from Nominations List". The Hindu. February 8, 2009. http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/009200902081480.htm. Retrieved 2009-02-14. 
  15. Olsen, Mark (December 11, 2008). "Benicio Del Toro leads the charge for Che". Los Angeles Times. 
  16. "Benicio Del Toro Talks The Wolfman". DreadCentral. http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/35758/benicio-del-toro-talks-the-wolfman. 
  17. Rosario, Mariela (30 September 2010). "Benicio del Toro Named Face of 2011 Campari Calendar". Latina. http://www.latina.com/entertainment/celebrity/benicio-del-toro-named-face-2011-campari-calendar. Retrieved 13 April 2011. 
  18. Badiali, Alessandro (22 October 2010). "Guests in frenzy for the Puerto Rican actor, star of the Campari Calendar 2011". Vogue. http://www.vogue.it/en/people-are-talking-about/parties-events/2010/x/benicio-del-toro-e-campari. Retrieved 13 April 2011. 
  19. Daily Mail Reporter (12 April 2011). "What will Rod Stewart say? Daughter Kimberly is pregnant after secret fling with Benicio del Toro". Daily Mail. London, UK. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1375800/Benicio-Del-Toro-having-baby-Rod-Stewarts-daughter-Kimberly.html?ito=feeds-newsxml. Retrieved 12 April 2011. 
  20. 20.0 20.1 "Kimberly Stewart Gives Birth to Baby Girl!". Us Weekly. 21 August 2011. http://www.usmagazine.com/momsbabies/news/kimberly-stewart-gives-birth-to-baby-girl-2011218. Retrieved 21 August 2011. 
  21. Finlayson, Ariana (December 4, 2011). "First Pic: Meet Kimberly Stewart's Daughter, Delilah, 3 Months". Us Weekly. http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-moms/news/first-pic-meet-kimberly-stewarts-daughter-delilah-3-months-2011412. Retrieved 21 December 2011. 
  22. Puente, Maria (November 4, 2011). "Oscar winner Benicio del Toro, singer Ricky Martin become Spanish citizens". USA Today. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/entertainment/post/2011/11/oscar-winner-benicio-del-toro-singer-ricky-martin-become-spanish-citizens/1. Retrieved November 8, 2011. 
  23. [1]

External links[link]

http://wn.com/Benicio_del_Toro



Steven Soderbergh

Soderbergh at the 2009 Venice Film Festival
Born Steven Andrew Soderbergh
(1963-01-14) January 14, 1963 (age 49)
Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Occupation Director, cinematographer, screenwriter, producer, editor
Years active 1984–present
Spouse Betsy Brantley (div. 1994)
Jules Asner (2003–present)

Steven Andrew Soderbergh (/ˈsdərbɜrɡ/; born January 14, 1963) is an American film producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, editor, and an Academy Award-winning film director. He is best known for directing critically acclaimed commercial Hollywood films like Out of Sight, Erin Brockovich and Traffic, and the remake of Ocean's Eleven. He has also directed smaller, less conventional works, such as Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Schizopolis, Bubble, The Girlfriend Experience and Che. His most recent works are Contagion and Haywire.

Contents

Early life and career[link]

Soderbergh was born in Atlanta, the son of Mary Ann (née Bernard) and Peter Andrew Soderbergh, who was a university administrator and educator.[1] His paternal grandfather was a Swedish immigrant, from Stockholm.[2] When he was a child, his family moved from Atlanta to Charlottesville, Virginia, where he lived during his adolescence, then moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where his father became Dean of Education at Louisiana State University (LSU). There he discovered filmmaking as a teenager, directing short Super 8 mm films with equipment borrowed from LSU students.[3]

While the family resided in Baton Rouge, Soderbergh's mother appeared regularly on a local ABC-affiliate's (WBRZ-TV/broadcast channel 2) early-morning show ("2une In") as a "call-in" psychic, and taught adult-education and "alternative education" classes in "parapsychology" at LSU.[citation needed]

His primary high school education was at Louisiana State University Laboratory School, a K-12 school that is directed by the University. While still taking classes there around the age of fifteen, Soderbergh enrolled in the university's film animation class and began making short 16 mm films with secondhand equipment.[4]

Rather than attending LSU, Soderbergh tried his luck in Hollywood after graduating from high school; he worked as a game show scorer and cue card holder to make ends meet, and eventually found work as a freelance film editor.[5] His big break came when he directed the Grammy-nominated concert video 9012Live for the rock band Yes in 1985.[6]

Career[link]

[edit] 1989: rise to prominence: Sex, Lies, and Videotape

It wasn't until Soderbergh came back to Baton Rouge that he conceived the idea for Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989), which he wrote in eight days.[7] The independent film won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, became a worldwide commercial success and greatly contributed to the 1990s independent film revolution. At age 26, Soderbergh became the youngest director to win the festival's top award.[8] Movie critic Roger Ebert dubbed Soderbergh the "poster boy of the Sundance generation".[9]

1993 to 1998[link]

Sex, Lies, and Videotape was followed by a series of low-budget box-office disappointments: Kafka, a biopic mixing fact and Kafka's own fiction (notably The Castle and The Trial), written by Lem Dobbs and starring Jeremy Irons as Franz Kafka; King of the Hill (1993), a critically acclaimed Depression-era drama; The Underneath (1995), a remake of Robert Siodmak's 1949 film noir Criss Cross; and Schizopolis (1996), a comedy which he starred in, wrote, composed, and shot as well as directed. He also directed the Spalding Gray monologue film Gray's Anatomy in 1996.

Making good on his Schizopolis-inspired "artistic wake-up call", his commercial slump ended in 1998 with Out of Sight, a stylized adaptation of an Elmore Leonard novel, written by Scott Frank and starring George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez.[10] The film was widely praised, though only a moderate box-office success. It reaffirmed Soderbergh's potential, sparking the beginnings of a lucrative artistic partnership between Clooney and Soderbergh.

1999 and 2000[link]

Soderbergh followed up on the success of Out of Sight by making another crime caper, The Limey (1999), from an original screenplay by Lem Dobbs and starring veteran actors Terence Stamp and Peter Fonda. The film was well-received, but not as much as Erin Brockovich (2000), written by Susannah Grant and starring Julia Roberts in her Oscar-winning role as a single mother taking on industry in a civil action.[11] Later that year, Soderbergh released Traffic, a social drama written by Stephen Gaghan and featuring an ensemble cast.

Traffic became his most acclaimed movie since Sex, Lies, and Videotape, and earned him an Academy Award for Best Director. He was also nominated that same year for Erin Brockovich. He is the only director to have been nominated in the same year for Best Director for two different films by the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes and the Directors Guild of America. The double nomination was the first in 60 years. (In 1938, Michael Curtiz was nominated twice, for Angels with Dirty Faces and Four Daughters, but did not win for either film.)

2001 to 2007[link]

Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Andy García, Julia Roberts, and Soderbergh in December 2001

Ocean's Eleven (2001), a Ted Griffin-scripted remake from a Rat Pack-movie from 1960, featuring an all-star cast and flashy aesthetics, is Soderbergh's highest grossing movie to date, grossing more than $183 million domestically and more than $450 million worldwide.[12][13] The film's star, George Clooney, subsequently appeared in Solaris (2002), marking the third time the two have headlined a film. In the same year, Soderbergh made Full Frontal which was shot mostly on digital video in an improvisational style that deliberately blurred the line between which actors were playing characters and which were playing fictionized versions of themselves. A film within a film, the title is a film industry reference to an actor or actress appearing fully nude (a.k.a., "full frontal nudity"). Also in 2002, Soderbergh was elected First Vice President of the Directors Guild of America.[14]

Following up Full Frontal stylistically was Soderbergh next project, K Street (2003), a ten-part political HBO series he co-produced with Clooney. The series was noteworthy for being both partially improvised and each episode being produced in the 5 days prior to airing to take advantage of topical events that could be worked into the fictional narrative. Actual political players appeared as themselves, either in cameos or fictionalized versions of themselves (as were the leads, real life husband and wife James Carville and Mary Matalin). The show caused a stir during the 2004 Democratic Primary when Carville gave candidate Howard Dean a soundbite during a location shoot that Dean then used in a debate.

Ocean's Twelve (2004), a sequel to Ocean's Eleven, has followed. The Good German, a romantic drama set in post-war Berlin starring Cate Blanchett and Clooney, was released in late 2006. The sixth pairing of Clooney and Soderbergh, Ocean's Thirteen, was released in June 2007.

Latest work[link]

In 2006, Soderbergh raised eyebrows with Bubble, a $1.6 million film featuring a cast of nonprofessional actors. It opened in selected theaters and HDNet simultaneously, and four days later on DVD. Industry heads were reportedly watching how the film performed, as its unusual release schedule could have implications for future feature films.[15][16] Theater-owners, who at the time had been suffering from dropping attendance rates, did not welcome so-called "day-and-date" movies.[17] National Association of Theatre Owners president and CEO John Fithian indirectly called the film's release model "the biggest threat to the viability of the cinema industry today."[18] Soderbergh's response to such criticism: "I don't think it's going to destroy the movie-going experience any more than the ability to get takeout has destroyed the restaurant business." The film did poor business both at the box office and on the home video market.[19] Nevertheless, Soderbergh is on contract to deliver five more day-and-date movies. In fall of 2006 he contributed a mini-essay on hotel pornography, along with an accompanying series of long-exposure photographs, to Anthem magazine's November/December issue.[citation needed][clarification needed]

In 2007, Soderbergh and Tony Gilroy contributed an audio commentary to the DVD re-release of The Third Man by the Criterion Collection.

On May 22, 2008, Che, which was released in theatres in two parts titled The Argentine[20] and Guerrilla,[21] was presented in the main competition of the 2008 Cannes film festival. Benicio del Toro plays Argentine guerrilla Ernesto "Che" Guevara in an epic four-hour double bill which looks first at his role in the Cuban revolution before moving to his campaign and eventual death in Bolivia.[22][23]

Soderbergh shot his feature film The Girlfriend Experience in New York in 2008. The film's lead actress is adult film star Sasha Grey.[24][25][26]

His next film was 2009's The Informant! a black comedy starring Matt Damon as corporate whistleblower Mark Whitacre. Whitacre wore a wire for two and a half years for the FBI as a high-level executive at a Fortune 500 company, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), in one of the largest price-fixing cases in history.[27] The film was released on September 18, 2009. The script for the movie was written by Scott Z. Burns based on Kurt Eichenwald's book, The Informant.

In 2009, Soderbergh directed a play titled Tot-Mom for the Sydney Theatre Company in Sydney, Australia.[28] The play is based on the real-life case of Caylee Anthony. Rehearsals commenced in early November 2009, and the production opened December 2009. Soderbergh also shot a small improvised film with the cast of the play, The Last Time I Saw Michael Gregg, a comedy about a theatre company staging Chekhov's Three Sisters.

He followed that with the action-thriller Haywire, starring Gina Carano, Ewan McGregor, Michael Fassbender, and Channing Tatum which, though shot in early 2010, was not released until January 2012.

In the fall of 2010, he shot the epic virus thriller Contagion, written by Scott Z. Burns.[29] With a star-studded cast including Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Laurence Fishburne, Marion Cotillard and Jude Law, the film follows the outbreak of a lethal pandemic across the globe and the efforts of doctors and scientists to discover the cause and develop a cure. It was released on September 9, 2011.

In September and October 2011, he shot Magic Mike, a film starring Channing Tatum, about the actor's experiences working as a male stripper in his youth. Tatum plays the title mentor character, while Alex Pettyfer plays a character based on Tatum. The film is expected to be released in the summer of 2012 in the US.

Soderbergh had planned to follow this in early 2012 with a feature version of The Man from U.N.C.L.E., also written by Scott Z. Burns. The film was set to reunite him with George Clooney, but Clooney had to drop out of the film due to a recurring back injury suffered while filming Syriana.[30] As of November 2011, Soderbergh had dropped out of the film due to budget and casting conflicts.[31]

His next project is the psychological thriller The Bitter Pill. It was reported the cast will include Rooney Mara, Channing Tatum and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Filming will take place in April 2012 for a release in the first half of 2013.[32]

Behind the Candelabra, his final film, is set to shoot in the Summer of 2012. It will star Michael Douglas as legendarily flamboyant pianist Liberace and Matt Damon as his lover Scott Thorson. The film is written by Richard LaGravenese, based on Thorson's book Behind the Candelabra: My Life With Liberace. It will be produced by HBO Films.[33]

Soderbergh has announced in numerous interviews his intention to retire from filmmaking after finishing these three films to focus on his painting full-time. He stated that "when you reach the point where you're saying, 'If I have to get into a van to do another scout, I'm just going to shoot myself,' it's time to let somebody who's still excited about getting in the van, get the van."[34] Soderbergh later confirmed that he would retire from filmmaking and begin to explore painting.[35] A few weeks later, Soderbergh played down his earlier comments, saying a film-making "sabbatical" was more accurate.[36]

Unrealized Projects[link]

Soderbergh nearly filmed a feature adaptation of the controversial state-of-baseball tome Moneyball, starring Brad Pitt and Demetri Martin. The book, by Michael Lewis, tells of how Billy Beane, general manager of Oakland Athletics, used statistical analysis to make up for what he lacked in funds to beat the odds and lead his team to a series of notable wins in 2002. Disagreements between Sony and Soderbergh about revisions to Steven Zaillian's version of the screenplay led to Soderbergh's dismissal from the project only days prior to filming in June 2009. The move by Sony's Amy Pascal, unprecedented in recent history, sent shockwaves through the industry. The film was eventually made by director Bennett Miller, with a script rewritten by Aaron Sorkin[37]. It was critically acclaimed and nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture.

Around the same time, he planned a 3D live-action rock musical film based on Cleopatra's life entitled "Cleo", with Catherine Zeta-Jones in talks to play Cleopatra, and with music by the band Guided by Voices.[38] Soderbergh and scriptwriter James Greer were said to be rewriting the lyrics of the songs to fit the story.[39] Hugh Jackman was approached to play Mark Antony but withdrew.[39][40]

He also worked for a time with writer Scott Z. Burns on a biopic of controversial Nazi-era film director Leni Riefenstahl, but he and Burns ended up abandoning that script as too uncommercial, making Contagion instead.[41]

Directorial style and collaborations[link]

Soderbergh frequently works with actors on more than one occasion. The following is a list of notable collaborators (in order of first film appearance):

  • Peter Gallagher (sex, lies, and videotape and The Underneath)
  • Ron Vawter (sex, lies, and videotape and King of The Hill)
  • Jeroen Krabbe (Kafka, King of the Hill and Ocean's Twelve)
  • Joe Chrest (King of the Hill, The Underneath, Schizopolis, Out of Sight, Erin Brockovich, Full Frontal, Ocean's Thirteen and The Informant!)
  • Spalding Gray (King of the Hill, Gray's Anatomy and And Everything is Going Fine)
  • Eddie Jemison (Schizopolis, Ocean's Eleven, Ocean's Twelve, Ocean's Thirteen, and The Informant!)
  • Don Cheadle (Out of Sight, Traffic, Ocean's Eleven, Ocean's Twelve and Ocean's Thirteen)
  • George Clooney (Out of Sight, Ocean's Eleven, Solaris, Ocean's Twelve, The Good German and Ocean's Thirteen)
  • Viola Davis (Out of Sight, Traffic and Solaris)
  • Luis Guzmán (Out of Sight, The Limey, and Traffic)
  • Catherine Keener (Out of Sight and Full Frontal)
  • Terrence Stamp (The Limey and Full Frontal)
  • Albert Finney (Erin Brockovich, Traffic and Ocean's Twelve)
  • Julia Roberts (Erin Brockovich, Ocean's Eleven, Full Frontal and Ocean's Twelve)
  • Michael Douglas (Traffic, Haywire and Behind the Candelabra)
  • Topher Grace (Traffic, Ocean's Eleven and Ocean's Twelve)
  • Benicio del Toro (Traffic and Che)
  • Catherine Zeta-Jones (Traffic, Ocean's Twelve and The Bitter Pill)
  • Matt Damon (Ocean's Eleven, Ocean's Twelve, Ocean's Thirteen, Che Part 2: Guerrilla, The Informant!, Contagion and Behind the Candelabra)
  • Elliott Gould (Ocean's Eleven, Ocean's Twelve, Ocean's Thirteen and Contagion)
  • Brad Pitt (Ocean's Eleven, Full Frontal, Ocean's Twelve and Ocean's Thirteen)
  • Enrico Colantoni (Full Frontal and Contagion)
  • Jude Law (Contagion and The Bitter Pill)
  • Channing Tatum (Haywire, Magic Mike and The Bitter Pill)

"I've always gotten along with them," says Soderbergh of actors, "I try and make sure they're OK, and when they're in the zone, I leave them alone. I don't get in their way." His non-intrusive directorial style has attracted repeat performances by many high-profile movie stars.[42] Julia Roberts had supporting roles in Ocean's Eleven, Ocean's Twelve, and Full Frontal, and won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her lead in Erin Brockovich. Benicio del Toro, who also won an Academy Award for his work in a Soderbergh film (Traffic), later starred in Guerrilla and The Argentine. Catherine Zeta-Jones won a Golden Globe nomination for her portrayal of Helena in Traffic (2000) and reteamed with him for box-office hit Ocean's Twelve (2004). But the actor he has collaborated most frequently with is George Clooney, who played the leading role six of his films, and with whom he co-owned the film production company, Section Eight Productions. Section Eight produced the critical hits Far From Heaven, Insomnia, and Syriana as well as the Clooney-directed films Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and Good Night, and Good Luck.

Soderbergh often acts as his own director of photography under the alias of Peter Andrews and occasionally as his own editor under the alias of Mary Ann Bernard. While shooting Traffic, Soderbergh wanted a credit of "Photographed and Directed by". The Writer's Guild (WGA) wouldn't allow another credit ahead of the writer. Because Soderbergh didn't want his name used more than once, he adopted a pseudonym, Peter Andrews, his father's first and middle names.

Soderbergh often utilizes Cliff Martinez to construct/compose the soundtracks to his movies, and when not cutting his own films, he relies on editor Stephen Mirrione.

Aesthetics[link]

Soderbergh has made big-budget Hollywood films as well as art-house independent films; works with above-the-title movie stars and unknowns; directs adaptations and original material, both of which written by himself as well as other screenwriters.[43] His versatility is also apparent with the genres which he chooses to film and his trades as a filmmaker behind the scenes. Traffic screenwriter and Syriana director Stephen Gaghan named Soderbergh "the Michael Jordan of filmmaking" for his ability to assume so many distinct roles in film production.[44]

While Soderbergh is enamoured of dialogue, Soderbergh's incorporation of score and montage are equally prevalent in his story-telling.[45] Even Soderbergh's light-hearted affairs, such as Out of Sight and Ocean's 11, contain scenes where images and score are the dominant story-telling mechanisms. Films such as Solaris and Traffic are heavily layered in scenes absent of dialogue altogether. Cliff Martinez, a frequent collaborator with Soderbergh, composes many of the scores that provide Soderbergh with the thematic and sonic landscapes into which he inserts his characters.[43]

But while Soderbergh's subject matter is highly varied, many of his films feature as a central theme the exploration of the act or moral consequences of lying. For example, the protagonists in two early films, King of the Hill and Sex, Lies, and Videotape, are both pathological liars (one in training, one in recovery), while most of the characters in all three Oceans films are con artists. It is interesting to note that he directed Spalding Gray in Gray's Anatomy after King of the Hill, an actor who often commented that he was unable to "make anything up". Full Frontal is another film in this thread, where seemingly the fundamental dishonesty of the entire filmmaking process is exposed. More distantly, Soderbergh's interest in rhyming slang, as seen in The Limey and the Oceans films, may be seen as part of this theme, based on the conjectured origin of rhyming slang as a language game.

In his review of Full Frontal film critic Roger Ebert commented that, "Every once in a while, perhaps as an exercise in humility, Steven Soderbergh makes a truly inexplicable film... A film so amateurish that only the professionalism of some of the actors makes it watchable... It's the kind of film where you need the director telling you what he meant to do and what went wrong and how the actors screwed up and how there was no money for retakes, etc."[46] About Soderbergh's film, The Good German and his emphasis on style over substance, film critic Richard Roeper commented that the film had to offer, "a lot of style. Not so much with the plot."[47]

Soderbergh has, nonetheless, been dubbed a stylistic chameleon by Anne Thompson of Premiere Magazine. Drew Morton has extensively researched Soderbergh and has tied him to a modern movement much like the French New Wave.[48][49]

Soderbergh also has a track record of honorable contributions in the cinematic arts; when the papers of Terry Southern were potentially in limbo following his untimely death in 1995, Soderbergh purchased and then donated the papers to the New York Public Library. Naqoyqatsi, the final chapter of Godfrey Reggio's Qatsi trilogy, was completed after a delay of more than 10 years, only after Soderbergh stepped in to provide the necessary funding.

Views[link]

Soderbergh claims to not be a fan of possessory credits, and prefers not to have his name front and center at the start of a film. "The fact that I'm not an identifiable brand is very freeing," says Soderbergh, "because people get tired of brands and they switch brands. I've never had a desire to be out in front of anything, which is why I don't take a possessory credit."[50]

On Monday, April 5, 2009, Soderbergh appeared before the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives, and "cited the French initiative in asking lawmakers to deputize the American film industry to pursue copyright pirates," indicating he supports anti-piracy laws and Internet regulation.[51]

Personal life[link]

Soderbergh is married to writer/journalist Jules Asner, whom he often credits for influencing his female characters. Soderbergh claims he no longer reads reviews of his movies. "After Traffic I just stopped completely",[50] says the director. "After winning the LA and New York film critics awards, I really felt like, this can only get worse".[50] Steven has a daughter with his first wife, Betsy Brantley. He also has a daughter, from an out of wedlock relationship.[52]

Soderbergh lives in New York City. He is an atheist.[53]

Filmography[link]

Director[link]

Year Title Oscar nominations Oscar wins
1989 Sex, Lies, and Videotape 1 (Original Screenplay)
1991 Kafka
1993 King of the Hill
1995 The Underneath
1996 Gray's Anatomy
Schizopolis
1998 Out of Sight 2
1999 The Limey
2000 Erin Brockovich 5 (incl. Best Director) 1
Traffic 5 (incl. Best Director) 4 (incl. Best Director)
2001 Ocean's Eleven
2002 Full Frontal
Solaris
2004 Ocean's Twelve
2005 Bubble
2006 The Good German 1
2007 Ocean's Thirteen
2008 Che
2009 The Girlfriend Experience
The Informant!
2010 And Everything Is Going Fine
2011 Contagion
2012 Haywire
Magic Mike
2013 The Bitter Pill

Screenwriter[link]

Cinematographer[link]

Editor[link]

Producer[link]

Audio commentaries[link]

On his own films[link]

On other films[link]

References[link]

  1. Steven Soderbergh Biography (1963–). Filmreference.com. Retrieved on 2012-01-22.
  2. What next after `sex, lies ...'? // Steven Soderbergh, film's `boy wonder', beats a retreat. Pqasb.pqarchiver.com (1989-08-27). Retrieved on 2012-01-22.
  3. "Steven Soderbergh at Hollywood.com". http://www.hollywood.com/celebrity/Steven_Soderbergh/194792. Retrieved 2007-12-20. 
  4. "Biography of Steven Soderbergh". Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001752/bio. Retrieved 2007-12-19. 
  5. "Steven Soderbergh Biography – Yahoo! Movies". http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800019577/bio. Retrieved 2007-12-19. 
  6. "allmovie ((( Steven Soderbergh > Biography )))". http://wm06.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=2:112040~T1. Retrieved 2007-12-19. 
  7. Mahadevan-Dasgupta, Uma (2003-07-18). "A filmmaker's celluloid feats". The Hindu. http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/fr/2003/07/18/stories/2003071801230100.htm. 
  8. Canby, Vincent (1989-05-27). "CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK; For the Cannes Winner, Untarnished Celebrity". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE2DF163CF934A15756C0A96F948260. 
  9. Ebert, Roger (2006-01-27). "Reviews: Bubble". Chicago Sun-Times. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060126/REVIEWS/60117006/1023. 
  10. "allmovie ((( Schizopolis > Overview )))". http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=1:136312~C. Retrieved 2007-12-19. 
  11. Dennis Lim (2001-01-03). "Both Sides Now. Having Your Way With Hollywood, or the Further Adventures of Steven Soderbergh". http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0101,lim,21165,1.html. 
  12. "Steven Soderbergh Movie Box Office Results". http://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?id=stevensoderbergh.htm. Retrieved 2007-12-19. 
  13. "All Time Worldwide Box Office Grosses". http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/world/. Retrieved 2009-05-18. 
  14. "Guild's National Board elects Martha Coolidge first woman president of DGA" (Press release). Directors Guild of America. 2002-03-09. http://www.dga.org/news/pr_expand.php3?245. 
  15. Will Soderbergh's 'Bubble' Burst on Hollywood?. 2006-01-24. http://www.npr.org/dmg/dmg.php?prgCode=FA&showDate=24-Jan-2006&segNum=2&mediaPref=WM&getUnderwriting=1. Retrieved 2007-12-19. 
  16. Anne Thompson (2006-03-17). "Distributors hold firm against day-and-date". The Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/columns/risky_business_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002198452. 
  17. Anne Thompson (2006-03-15). "Challenges Seen for Film Biz After 2005 Slide". http://www.backstage.com/bso/news_reviews/film/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002197235. 
  18. Gary Gentile (2006-01-18). "'Bubble' hits theaters, TV, DVD on same day". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2006-01-18-bubble-theater-threat_x.htm. 
  19. Rob Thomas (2006-03-17). "Independents' day smaller markets to get films on TV at the same time they hit the theaters". The Capital Times. http://www.madison.com/tct/archives/index.php?archAction=arch_read&a_file=%2Ftct%2F2006%2F03%2F17%2F0603170328.php. 
  20. The Argentine (2008). IMDb.com
  21. Guerrilla (2008). IMDb.com
  22. Festival de Cannes : Film details 2008
  23. indieWIRE: CANNES '08 NOTEBOOK | The Revolution By Night: Steven Soderbergh's "Che"[dead link]
  24. Original news release: David Sullivan, „Sasha Grey Stars in Steven Soderbergh Feature“, in: Adult Video News, AVN Media Network (online), 10-14-2008
  25. David Sullivan, „Video: Soderbergh Directs Sasha Grey“, in: Adult Video News, AVN Media Network (online), 10-15-2008
  26. Video of The Girlfriend Experience shoot at celebrities.com
  27. "The Informant". Hollywood.com. http://www.hollywood.com/movie/The_Informant/3464215. Retrieved 2007-12-19. 
  28. Sydney Theatre
  29. Creepy, Uncle. (2010-04-01) Script Details Leak Out for Steven Soderbergh's Contagion. Dreadcentral.com. Retrieved on 2012-01-22.
  30. George Clooney back injury forced 'Man From U.N.C.L.E.' exit, says writer – Movies News. Digital Spy (2011-09-07). Retrieved on 2012-01-22.
  31. "Steven Soderbergh Reportedly No Longer Directing The Man From U.N.C.L.E.". 2011-11-17. http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Steven-Soderbergh-Reportedly-Longer-Directing-Man-From-U-N-C-L-E-27960.html. Retrieved 2011-11-26. 
  32. Lyttelton, Oliver (January 9, 2012). "Exclusive: Rooney Mara, Jude Law & Channing Tatum Will Lead Steven Soderbergh's 'The Side Effects'". indieWire. http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/exclusive-blake-lively-jude-law-channing-tatum-will-lead-steven-soderberghs-the-side-effects. Retrieved January 19, 2012. 
  33. HBO Films Backs Steven Soderbergh's Liberace Pic 'Behind The Candelabra'; Set For Summer 2012 Shoot | The Playlist. Blogs.indiewire.com. Retrieved on 2012-01-22.
  34. "'Traffic' director Steven Soderbergh Announces Retierment". http://www.allheadlinenews.com/briefs/articles/90040147?%26quot%3BTraffic%26quot%3B%20director%20Steven%20Soderbergh%20announces%20retirement. Retrieved 2011-08-29. 
  35. "Steven Soderbergh Confirms Plans to Leave Hollywood and Become a Painter". 2011-08-29. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/artinfo/steven-soderbergh-confirm_b_940528.html. Retrieved 2011-08-29. 
  36. "'Steven Soderbergh Now Denies Retiring". 2011-09-05. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/05/steven-soderbergh-not-retiring-sabbatical_n_949124.html. Retrieved 2–11–11–26. 
  37. Graser, Marc (July 9, 2009). "Sony still game for 'Moneyball'". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118005824.html?categoryid=13&cs=1. Retrieved 2009-07-09. 
  38. Keslassy, Elsa. (2008-10-23) „Soderbergh to make 3-D 'Cleopatra'“. Variety.com. Retrieved on 2012-01-22.
  39. 39.0 39.1 Tobias, Scott (2009-01-06). "Steven Soderbergh". The Onion (A.V. Club). http://www.avclub.com/content/interview/steven_soderbergh/2. 
  40. Fleming, Michael (2009-01-01). "Hugh Jackman off 'Cleo' wishlist". Variety. http://www.variety.com/VR1117997899.html. 
  41. Steven Soderbergh Reveals He Dropped A Leni Riefenstahl Biopic To Do 'Contagion' Instead | The Playlist. Blogs.indiewire.com. Retrieved on 2012-01-22.
  42. Ellen A. Kim (2000-12-03). ""Traffic": Steven Soderbergh Interview". Hollywood.com. http://www.hollywood.com/feature/id/471293. 
  43. 43.0 43.1 Steven Soderbergh IMDB
  44. Conversation About 'Traffic' – Screenwriter Stephen Gaghan talks about his new film, "Traffic" Charlie Rose (refers to Soderbergh as "Michael Jordan") December 27,200
  45. "The Limey" review by Jeff Vorndam (creative editing techniques and hand-held camerawork). Aboutfilm.com. Retrieved on 2012-01-22.
  46. Roger Ebert, ''Chicago Sun Times'' August 2, 2002 "Full Frontal". Rogerebert.suntimes.com. Retrieved on 2012-01-22.
  47. Rotten Tomatoes reviews top critics "The Good German" Richard Roeper. Rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved on 2012-01-22.
  48. Anne Thompson. "Steven Soderbergh: The Filmmaker Series". http://stevensoderbergh.net/articles/2000/premiere.php. Retrieved 2007-12-19. 
  49. Drew Morton. "French New Wave Influences in Steven Soderbergh Films". http://stevensoderbergh.net/articles/2003/frenchnewwaveinfluences.php. Retrieved 2007-12-19. 
  50. 50.0 50.1 50.2 "Steven Soderbergh: The Girlfriend Experience". SuicideGirls.com. May 21, 2009. http://suicidegirls.com/interviews/Steven%20Soderbergh%3A%20The%20Girlfriend%20Experience/. Retrieved 2009-05-21. 
  51. Kevin J. O'Brien (2009-04-08). "France Moves to Crack Down on Internet Piracy". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/09/business/global/09net.html?hp. 
  52. "Married Ocean's Eleven director Steven Soderbergh admits to fathering love child". Daily Mail. April 7, 2010. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1374262/Married-Oceans-Eleven-director-Steven-Soderbergh-admits-fathering-love-child.html. Retrieved April 7, 2010. 
  53. Thompson, Stephen (September 6, 2000). "Is there a God?". The A.V. Club. http://www.avclub.com/articles/is-there-a-god,1394/. Retrieved August 22, 2010. 

Further reading[link]

  • Waxman, Sharon, ed. (2005), Rebels on the Backlot: Six Maverick Directors and How They Conquered the Hollywood Studio System, HarperEntertainment .

External links[link]

http://wn.com/Steven_Soderbergh



Vasco Rossi
Born (1952-02-07) 7 February 1952 (age 60)
Origin Zocca, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Genres Pop Rock, Hard Rock
Years active 1977–present
Website www.vascorossi.net

Vasco Rossi (born 7 February 1952), also known as Vasco or with the nickname Il Blasco, is an Italian singer-songwriter. During his career, he has published 26 albums (not including unofficial releases) and has written over 150 songs, as well as lyrics for other artists. He calls himself a "provoca(u)tore" (an Italian portmanteau for "provoking author") as throughout his career he has been regularly criticized over his choice of lifestyle and the lyrics in his songs.

Contents

Biography[link]

Vasco Rossi was born in Zocca, in the province of Modena (Emilia-Romagna). His father, Carlo Rossi, was a truck-driver, and his mother, Novella, a housewife. It was his mother herself who decided to enroll him in singing school when he was a little boy, a choice that must have seemed rather peculiar within the mentality of a small village in the Apennines like Zocca. Nonetheless, Rossi fell in love with music and at the age of 14 began playing with his first band.

Rossi and his family moved to Bologna, Italy, where he studied accounting in high school. Upon graduating he opened a music club, Punto Club, and enrolled in university at the faculty of Economics and Business. In the meantime he supported himself by working as a DJ and founding, along with friends, one of the first private radio stations in Italy, "Punto Radio", with which he began slowly and timidly showcasing his own songs.

Encouraged by his friend Gaetano Curreri (now leading member of Italian rock band Stadio), Rossi released his first EP on 13 June 1977, which included the songs "Jenny è pazza" (Jenny is crazy) and “Silvia", and a full-length album in 1978, Ma cosa vuoi che sia una canzone ("What do you think a song is"). In 1979, he released a second album, Non siamo mica gli americani ("It's not, like, we are the Americans"), which included, "Albachiara" ("Cleardawn"), one of his biggest hits, and a ballad considered emblematic of Rossi’s poetic style. His most controversial album, Colpa d'Alfredo ("Alfredo's fault") followed in 1980; its title-track was censored from the radio and let loose bitter criticism because it contained some lyrics referring to women considered too explicit at that time. The controversy actually increased Rossi’s popularity, and he quickly saw himself famous on a national level, particularly after performing live on Domenica In, a popular Italian television program. The performance did not particularly please journalist Nantas Salvalaggio, who published a scathing article against Rossi calling him drug-addict. Rossi argued that Salvalaggio evidently did not understand his music and remarked how easy it is to criticize a still unknown artist who cannot defend himself.

In 1981, the album Siamo solo noi ("It's only us") was released. The title track, another signature song of his, would become commonly recognized as a generational hymn.

In 1982, Rossi took part for the first time in the Sanremo Music Festival, performing the song "Vado al massimo" ("I'm taking it to the max"). Here, he once again found himself under the harsh criticism, and came in last place in the festival. In April of the same year the album Vado al Massimo was released. The following year, he reappeared at the Sanremo Music Festival, this time performing “Vita spericolata" (Daredevil Life), probably his most popular song, and finishing in second-to-last place due to his apparent state of intoxication. The following album, Bollicine ("Little Bubbles"), published in 1983, was his sixth in seven years, and was the album that consecrated him definitively an idol of the new generation and an icon of Italian rock. The title track, whose lyrics are about Coke (but also demonstrate a clear assonance with cocaine), won the Festivalbar ‘83, and his tour that year was an enormous success.

To celebrate this positive period in his career, Rossi released his first live recording in 1984, Va bene, va bene così ("It’s alright, it’s alright this way"). In April, however, he was arrested on charges of drug possession. He was immediately granted provisional release from jail, but subsequently sentenced to 2 years and 8 months of probation. Shortly thereafter he released his next album, Cosa succede in città ("What goes on in town"), which became one of his weakest critically and did not reach past sales.

In 1987 Vasco Rossi’s ninth album, C'è chi dice no ("There Are Some Who Say ‘No’"), was released; the ever-increasing numbers of fans showing up to his concerts forced him to quit performing in clubs and normal-sized venues and begin the era of something for which he is known to this day—playing in and selling out big arenas and stadiums.

His tenth studio album, Liberi liberi ("[we are] Free, Free"), followed in 1989. The success of his 1989 tour brought the release of the live album Fronte del palco (a pun of the Italian title of Marlon Brando's film "Waterfront" which was "Fronte del porto", and thus meaning "Stage Front") and the organization of two concerts in 1990, one at the San Siro stadium in Milan and the other at the Flaminio in Rome.

Rossi's next album, Gli spari sopra ("The shots above"), released in 1993, went platinum ten times. The title track, which was a major hit, is a cover version of Celebrate by the Irish band An Emotional Fish. In 1994 he gave the unreleased "Senza Parole" ("Without Words") as a gift to members of his official fan-club.

In 1995, Rossi was again the star at San Siro with a double concert, Rock sotto l'assedio ("Rock under siege"), which protested the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Rossi invited a few Bosnian bands like Sikter, Lezi Majmune and Protest to perform but was heavily criticized by the press because the proceeds weren't given to charity, despite the fact they were never meant to.

In 1996, Rossi recorded a new studio album, Nessun Pericolo... Per Te ("No Danger... For You"), featured songs “Sally” and "Gli angeli" ("The Angels"), (the video of the latter was directed by Roman Polanski).

In 1998 Rossi rediscovered his singer-songwriter side, recording and releasing the album Canzoni per me ("Songs for me") with a softer and less “rock” sound, even remaking never-published songs written at the beginning of his career. The nature of the songs, however, did not impede Rossi from winning his second Festivalbar with the song, "Luna per te" ("Moon for you"). Given the low propensity of these songs to fit in his live show with the songs his fans had up to that time become accustomed, he decided to hold just one concert in 1998, accepting the proposal to be a guest star on the first evening of the new Heineken Jammin' Festival in Imola, Italy. The evening is immortalized in both video and in the 1999 live album Rewind. A few days into the tour, Rossi’s inseparable friend, as well as guitarist and writer/cowriter of many songs and lyrics, Massimo Riva, died unexpectedly. He would be remembered and celebrated by Rossi and fans in nearly every concert that followed.

In 2001, Stupido Hotel ("Stupid Hotel"), was released, and Rossi won his third Festivalbar, this time with the song “Siamo Soli” ("We are alone"). In 2002 Rossi released his first official recording of remastered songs in their original version, Tracks, which was followed by three sold-out performances at San Siro Stadium in Milan. His album Buoni o cattivi ("Good or Bad Ones") was the most successful album in Italy in 2004.

On 12 May 2005, Milan’s IULM conferred an honorary degree in Communication Sciences to Vasco Rossi.

On 9 September 2005, Rossi released the double DVD È solo un Rock'n'Roll show ("It’s Only a Rock’n’Roll Show") with Andrea Lehotská, launching the concept of the ‘movieclip,’ in which all the songs from Buoni o cattivi (Good or Bad [guys])’ are used in a 2-hour long music video. Three months later, Buoni o cattivi live anthology 04.05 was released, a comprehensive box-set comprising a double CD and a triple DVD, recorded live from the record-setting Buoni o cattivi tour of 2004 and 2005. In December 2005 he returned to his home town of Zocca, , where his childhood friends and the rest of the community organized a tribute in his honor, including a photo display and other celebrations.

In 2007, he released the "Vasco Extended Play", that contains the hit single "Basta Poco" ("A Little Is Enough"). The EP topped the Italian FIMI Charts for 21 Weeks, making that the Italian best-selling single of 2007 thus far.

In late 2009, SingStar Vasco Rossi was released.

On 4 May 2010 the "Corriere della Sera" reported Vasco Rossi as saying the American and British governments had been responsible for preventing him and other Italian musicians from becoming known in those countries. “Just as Bob Dylan was banned from playing in China, for 20 years I was barred from London. … It’s one of the many ‘presents’ that America left us after World War II. To favour the sale of American and British music to Italy and discourage the export of our talents abroad.”

In June 2011 Rossi announced he would be retiring from touring and live work although would continue to work in the music business. [1]

During 2011, Vasco's lawyers threatened to undertake legal actions against popular Italian satire website "Nonciclopedia", the italian version of Uncyclopedia, arguing that the rock star was offended by the contents of the page about him. On October 3rd 2011 the website shut down after repeated inquiries from the police to the site's admins. The news promptly ran across the web via thousands of tweets, blogposts and eventually spread on some Italian newspapers. [2][3]

He is an atheist[4].

Official discography[link]

LPs[link]

  • <<..Ma cosa vuoi che sia una canzone>> (1978)
  • Non siamo mica gli americani (1979)
  • Colpa d'Alfredo (1980)
  • Siamo solo noi (1981)
  • Vado al massimo (1982)
  • Bollicine (1983)
  • Va bene, Va bene così (1984)
  • Cosa succede in città (1985)
  • C'è chi dice no (1987)
  • Liberi... Liberi (1989)
  • 10.7.90 San Siro (1990)
  • Fronte del palco (1990)
  • Gli spari sopra (1993)
  • Nessun pericolo... Per te (1996)
  • Rock (1997)
  • Canzoni per me (1998)
  • Rewind (1999)
  • Stupido Hotel (2001)
  • Vasco Rossi Tracks (2002)
  • Buoni o Cattivi (2004)
  • Buoni o cattivi - Live Anthology 04.05 (2005)
  • Il mondo che vorrei (2008)
  • Vasco Rossi Tracks 2 (inediti & rarità) (2009)
  • Vasco London Instant Live (2010)
  • Vivere o niente (2011)
  • L'altra metà del cielo (2012)

EPs and singles[link]

  • "Jenny / Silvia" (1977)
  • "La nostra relazione / ... E poi mi parli di una vita insieme" (1978)
  • "Albachiara / Fegato, fegato spappolato" (1979)
  • "Non l'hai mica capito / Asilo repubblic" (1980)
  • "Voglio andare al mare / Brava" (1981)
  • "Splendida giornata Remix" (1982)
  • "Vado al massimo / Ogni volta" (1982)
  • "Vita spericolata / Mi piaci perchè" (1983)
  • "Brava Giulia / Blasco Rossi" (1987)
  • "Non mi va Remix" (1987)
  • "Gli spari sopra (Hard Attack Mix) / Delusa (Mode Mix) / Delusa (Club Mix)" (1993)
  • "Gli spari sopra (Celebrate)/Delusa (Rock Party Mix) /Se è vero o no/ L'uomo che hai di fronte (B. Mix)" (1993)
  • "Senza Parole Remix" (1994)
  • "Senza Parole" (1994)
  • "Vasco Remixed" (1996)
  • "Gli angeli" (1996)
  • "Praticamente perfetto Remix / Io Perderò Remix" (1996)
  • "Quanti anni hai" (1998)
  • "L'una per te" (1998)
  • "Io no" (1998)
  • "Rewind (single)" (1998)
  • "La fine del millennio" (1999)
  • "Buoni o Cattivi (single)" (2004)
  • "Come Stai (single)" (2004)
  • "Buoni o Cattivi Remix" (2004)
  • "Un senso (single)" (2004)
  • "Anymore (single)" (2004)
  • "E... (single)" (2005)
  • "Cosa vuoi da me remix" (2005)
  • "Vasco Extended Play" (2007)
  • "Basta poco" (2007)
  • "Il mondo che vorrei (single)" (2008)
  • "Gioca con me Remix" (2008)
  • "Colpa del Whisky Remix" (2009)
  • "Sto pensando a te" (2009)
  • "Ad ogni costo" (2009)
  • "Ho fatto un sogno" (2010)
  • "Eh... già" (2011)
  • "I soliti" (2011)
  • "Manifesto futurista della nuova umanità" (2011)

DVDs[link]

  • Rewind (1999)
  • Vasco Rossi Tracks (2002)
  • Vasco Rossi @ S. Siro 03 (2003)
  • E' Solo Un Rock'N' Roll Show (2005)
  • Buoni O Cattivi Live Anthology (2005)
  • Fronte Del Palco - Live 90 (2006)
  • Gli Spari Sopra Tour (2006)
  • Vasco@Olimpico.07 27.28 giugno sold out (2007)
  • Vasco Rossi. Il mondo che vorrei. Live (2008)

References[link]

  1. End of the road for rockstar Vasco Italy for Beginners, 27-06-2011
  2. "Vasco, ti presento l'Effetto Streisand". Attivissimo.blogspot.com. 2009-03-02. http://attivissimo.blogspot.com/2011/10/nonciclopedia-sospesa-avrebbe-diffamato.html. Retrieved 2011-11-08. 
  3. "Vasco fa chiudere Nonciclopedia La rete: «Mito di cartapesta»". Unita.it. 2008-09-20. http://www.unita.it/culture/vasco-fa-chiudere-nonciclopedia-br-la-rete-mito-di-cartapesta-1.337942. Retrieved 2011-11-08. 
  4. Il gionale, 11th August, 2011.

External links[link]

http://wn.com/Vasco_Rossi



Frankie Hi-NRG MC

Frankie Hi-NRG MC singing during the "Horror Vacui" festival in Trento
Background information
Birth name Francesco Di Gesù
Origin Turin, Italy
Genres Hip-hop
Occupations Musician, Singer, Record producer
Years active 1991–present
Labels Sony BMG
Website http://www.frankie.tv/

Frankie HI-NRG MC, born Francesco Di Gesù (Turin, 18 August 1969), is an Italian rapper of Sicilian origins. Frankie HI-NRG has been active since the early stages of the Italian hip hop movement in the early 1990s, and predominantly discusses Politics and Society in his music.

Biography[link]

Born in Turin, Italy, he collaborated with Italian and international artists (in addition to those included in his albums):

Discography[link]

  • 1993 - Verba manent
  • 1997 - La morte dei miracoli
  • 2003 - Ero un autarchico
  • 2005 - Rap©ital
  • 2008 - DePrimoMaggio

External links[link]

http://wn.com/Frankie_Hi-NRG_MC



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