Che's homeland finally erects towering tribute 80 years after his birth

Published on Sunday 15 June 2008 22:09

A BRONZE statue of Ernesto "Che" Guevara was unveiled this weekend in the Argentine city where he was born exactly 80 years ago, the first such monument to the revolutionary in his homeland.

Thousands of students, leftwing activists and residents marched through Rosario to pay homage to the fighter, who left his country as a young man to lead armed struggles including Cuba's 1959 revolution alongside Fidel Castro.

"I believe in the revolution – that's why I love Che," said Monica Nielson, 49, sporting a soldier's beret with a single star like that worn by Guevara in a photo that turned him into a 20th-century icon.

Members of Rosario's socialist city council, which organised Saturday's events, say controversy over Guevara has eased after 25 years of democracy.

"Che is more of a historical figure nowadays," said Horacio Ghirardi, organiser of the tribute in Rosario. "He was always very controversial in the country, especially among the right, which couldn't stand him or even tolerate debate about him." In Cuba, where a series of acts have taken place during the week to mark the anniversary, vice-president Carlos Lage praised Guevara as "a mythic icon".

The Cuban commemorations included days of unpaid voluntary labour – something advocated by Che, who is remembered for toiling shirtless on building sites and cutting sugar cane. Guevara's daughter, Aleida, arrived in Rosario to cheers and chants of "Viva!"

She visited a makeshift campsite set up for the celebrations, which culminated in the unveiling of the 2.7-tonne, 12ft statue made out of thousands of donated, melted-down keys.

Guevara was depicted in his typical military uniform, striking a defiant pose.

"It's good for me to see so many young people here. Monuments aren't important – what matters is that we put Che's beliefs into practice," she said.

Several-thousand people, some carrying red Communist Party flags and banging drums, gathered in Rosario's newly built Ernesto "Che" Guevara plaza, where local officials unveiled the centrepiece statue.

Sceptics suggested Rosario's leaders just wanted to cash in on the lucrative Che brand by attracting tourists to the city in which he did not grow up.

For others, he is still a threatening figure.

"He was a terrorist. There are a lot of other people who deserve to have statues. It's not right to give killers monuments," said taxi driver Diego Benitez.

"To cap it off, they use public money. We all pay whether we like it or not."

BACKGROUND

"EL CHE", a national hero in Cuba, is one of Argentina's most famous sons. But he has been slow to get recognition as a national figure at home.

For years after CIA-backed troops executed him in the Bolivian jungle in 1967, he was still too controversial for public recognition in Argentina.

The leaders of the country's 1976-83 "dirty war" dictatorship banned his image, and attackers bombed the apartment building where he was born in 1928 after the council put up a commemorative plaque there.