Ernesto "Che" Guevara was an Argentine Marxist Revolutionary, physician, author, guerilla warfare leader, diplomat, military theorist, and a major figure during the Cuban Revolution. Today he has become an icon among popular culture and is worn on many t-shirts. 3/4 of those who wear his shirt do not even know much about Che. Che was simply a product of his environment and after travelling all over South America with his friend Alberto Granado, he was very disturbed by the poverty, sickness, and injustices he witnessed. These travels of his are written down in "The Motorcycle Diaries." He believed that these problems in South America existed because of monopoly capitalism, imperialism, and neocolonialism. In addition, he believed that the most sufficient solution to these problems was a world revolution. Guevara became even more radical in his beliefs after witnessing the coup d'état of Guatemala's government which was carried out by the United States government and CIA. Guatemala’s government was then replaced by a military junta, headed by Colonel Carlos Castillo. Che later met Raul and Fidel Castro while in Mexico City and decided to join their revolutionary group - the 26th of July Movement (named after the day of Fidel's failed attack on the Moncada barracks). They then boarded an old beat up yacht appropriately named the “Granma” and headed to Cuba to begin their revolution in an attempt to overthrow the U.S. backed dictator Fulgencio Batista.
Upon their arrival, Batista’s army takes out 2/3 of the 82 rebels and only about 12 witness their victory over Batista’s governenment after Batista flees Cuba. In January 1959, rebels led by Che Guevara captured La Cabaña and used it as a headquarters and as a military prison for several months while leading the Cuban revolution. During his five-month tenure in that post, Guevara oversaw the revolutionary tribunals and executions of suspected war criminals, traitors, chivatos (informants), and former members of Batista's secret police. Che acquired the additional position of Finance Minister as President of the National Bank, which along with Minister of Industries, placed him at the zenith of his power, as the "virtual czar" of the Cuban economy. After their victory in Cuba, Che made trips to China, the Soviet Union, and also helped rebels during the Congo Crisis. When he began his revolutionary campaign in Bolivia, no one was sure about whether he was alive or not. Ultimately, Che was discovered and captured by Bolivian forces. His finals words to his executioner were, “I know you are here to kill me. Shoot, coward, you are only going to kill a man.” As he was getting shot, he bit into his wrist to prevent himself from crying out. His body was then buried in an unmarked grave. His hands were cut off and sent to Fidel Castro with a picture of his corpse as proof of his death. In 1997 his remains were discovered and buried in Cuba.
by ♫ Highway to Hell ♫ September 15, 2010
A communist who was inept and had no formal medical training. When the nuclear ICBM's were in place in Cuba he wanted to blow up NY. Castro used Ernesto "Che" Guevara for his families money to pay off the Army of Batista. The "revolution" was one of the calmest ones in history. He raped, murdered, squandered the Cubans lives and money. He thought and believed that musicians, actors, capitalists were useless and evil. He managed to ruin the 5 Billion dollar (USD) surplus that Batista and his evil capitalist friends had made while he was in power. Batista was using the rich Americans as a cash cow through tourism and gambling. Guevara was a horrible leader during his attempted coups in other countries. He failed in life and as proof he died saying I am worth more to you alive than dead.
by 11B20 February 15, 2010
1. A terrorist/revolutionary leader who spent the better part of his life fighting the forces of Capitalism only to wind up with his face on t shirts being sold at The Gap and Hot Topic.
2. A 'cultural image' that is found on t shirt, mugs, bookbags, or any paraphernalia of the disaffected rebellious teenager or hipster douche.
2. A 'cultural image' that is found on t shirt, mugs, bookbags, or any paraphernalia of the disaffected rebellious teenager or hipster douche.
"Dude we're totally going to the Occupy protest, I'ma be wearing my Che Guevara shirt and everything."
by That Rat Bastard August 6, 2012
The Osama Bin Laden of the Cold War:
- Born into a rich family in a country economically colonized by the West.
- Disillusioned with the system that made his family - and consequently him, - wealthy; for somewhat legitimate reasons.
- Ostracized by his family for his opposition to this system.
- Turned to a mind-numbing and violent ideology of radical opposition to the system in place, popular with many others at the time due to legitimate flaws and a lack of opportunities for civil opposition, but far more flawed in its own nature.
- Funded by institutionalized proponents of the radical opposition ideology to "spread it," although not always entirely in-line with their specific principles.
- Ran around in the backwoods of desolate countries with poor and uneducated populations, trying to motivate them to join his cause and oppose the system; and mostly succeeding only in de-stabilizing said countries as the people there were wary of both.
- Eventually killed by the military of one such country who were tipped off by the local population that was annoyed with him running around in their backyards. (This has not YET happened to Bin Laden, unfortunately.)
- Born into a rich family in a country economically colonized by the West.
- Disillusioned with the system that made his family - and consequently him, - wealthy; for somewhat legitimate reasons.
- Ostracized by his family for his opposition to this system.
- Turned to a mind-numbing and violent ideology of radical opposition to the system in place, popular with many others at the time due to legitimate flaws and a lack of opportunities for civil opposition, but far more flawed in its own nature.
- Funded by institutionalized proponents of the radical opposition ideology to "spread it," although not always entirely in-line with their specific principles.
- Ran around in the backwoods of desolate countries with poor and uneducated populations, trying to motivate them to join his cause and oppose the system; and mostly succeeding only in de-stabilizing said countries as the people there were wary of both.
- Eventually killed by the military of one such country who were tipped off by the local population that was annoyed with him running around in their backyards. (This has not YET happened to Bin Laden, unfortunately.)
Next time you see someone wearing a "Che Guevara" shirt, imagine how you'd feel in 30 years if someone wore an "Osama Bin Laden" shirt.
by EngineerofSouls July 4, 2010
The real Che Guevara: Terrorist, murderer, Stalinist. This is not the romanticized Hollywood version. Buy a fucking Che'
t-shirt for capitalism!
t-shirt for capitalism!
by Zombie Reagan February 4, 2009
The biggest hero of assholes. Loved by many. None were loved by him. A coward whose last sentence was "Don't shoot, I'm worth more to you alive than dead." Led to hundreds of thousands of innocent Cuban deaths, and 74,000 deaths at sea by those trying to escape to freedom. However he is the reason I am in this wonderful country today instead of in Cuba. Atleast in this country the people who love him so much can bad talk our government, while if they had lived in Cuba they would not have survived that. Also a raging psychopath.
I wonder why rockers love Che Guevara so much if they had lived in his Cuba, they would have been thrown into prison camps and tortured.
by Bartolo Soto April 12, 2008
Ernesto "Che" Guevara commonly known as Che Guevara, El Che, or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, politician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, military theorist, and a major figure of the Cuban Revolution. Since his death, his stylized visage has become a ubiquitous countercultural symbol and global insignia within popular culture. As a young medical student, Guevara traveled throughout Latin America and was transformed by the poverty he witnessed. His experiences and observations during these trips led him to conclude that the region's ingrained economic inequalities were an intrinsic result of monopoly capitalism, neocolonialism, and imperialism, with the only remedy being world revolution. After fighting alongside Fidel Castro in the Cuban Revolution, Che fought in the Congo Crisis of 1965 and in Bolivia. Some of the books written by Che include Guerrilla Warfare, The Motorcycle Diaries, and Episodes of the Cuban Revolutionary War.
by ♫ Highway to Hell ♫ November 4, 2009