Che: the man behind the myth: how did Fidel Castro's ruthless lieutenant during the Cuban Revolution become such a hip icon?

• Author: Gonzalez, David
• Position: Ernesto "Che" Guevara - Cover story - Biography

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CRITICAL THINKING

Ask for a show of hands: How many students have seen or worn a "Che shirt"? Then ask how much they knew about the man and his Life before reading the article. Has their view of him changed?

Ask students what might account for the "Robin Hood" qualities attributed to a man who was personally responsible for so many deaths.

What might explain why Che is reviled by some and Loved by others?

WRITING PROMPT

Have students write five-paragraph essays in which they discuss some similarities and differences between the Cuban and American revolutions.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Would you wear a "Che shirt"? Why or why not?

Was Che's anger at U.S. involvement in Latin America justified or not?

Why do you think the U.S. continues a 4?-year economic embargo against

Cuba but trades and has diplomatic relations with Communist China?

Why do you think Cuba requires school children to pledge to be Like Che?

FAST FACTS

"Che" is an Argentine expression for calling someone's attention, similar to "hey" in Englsh.

Fuljencio Batista, the Cuban dictator Castro toppled, personally profited from the spoils of the American mafia, which he allowed to run gambling and other enterprises in Cuba.

Ernesto "Che" Guevara has been dead for 40 years, but his face is everywhere. An iconic image of the beret-wearing guerrilla, who helped Fidel Castro seize I power in Cuba in 1959, has become both a provocative symbol of resistance and a hip fashion statement: from banners at protest rallies around the world, to T-shirts, bandannas, and knickknacks for sale at gift shops and on Web sites like thechestore.com. In fact, the classic Che portrait is thought by media experts to be the world's most reproduced photograph.

"I idolize him as far as helping me build myself," says Tanya Gonzalez, a 17-year-old senior at El Puente Academy for Peace and Justice in Brooklyn, N.Y., who helped paint a mural of the Argentine-born revolutionary. "When we studied Cuban history, our focus was how Che Guevara helped free Cuba."

But for those who have actually lived under Fidel Castro's dictatorial rule and struggled to survive in Cuba's barely functioning economy--including the million Cubans who have escaped to the U.S.--Che and the Cuban revolution did anything but free the island's people. Far from being a romantic warrior, historians say, Che was a revolutionary zealot who presided over executions and helped lead Cuba down a ruinous economic and social path. He...