Corvus+Ernesto+Guevara+(pre+“Che”)

Hayden Dunn

Ernesto Guevara (Pre-“Che”)

Ernesto Guevara de la Serna is the full name of revolutionary Che Guevara, who is more commonly known for his work as a guerilla leader, tactician, theoretician, and communist figure in the Cuban Revolution. However, his life before becoming the figure most recognize him as today is less commonly known. Early in Ernesto’s life, he was exposed to a wide variety of leftist political ideas, leading him to develop a natural sympathy for the less well-off. Before his adolescence, Ernesto had favored intellectual pursuits such as chess, poetry, and political literature such as works by Karl Marx, the founder of modern communism. This in turn may have sparked his interests in philosophy, political science, and sociology, which he became fairly well read in. In 1948, Ernesto entered the University of Buenos Aires in order to study medicine, and interspersed his education with lengthy, introspective, cross-country motorcycle journeys through Latin America. These journeys eventually lead Ernesto to the conclusion that, “His observations of the great poverty of the masses contributed to his eventual conclusion that the only solution lay in violent revolution. He came to look upon Latin America not as a collection of separate nations but as a cultural and economic entity, the liberation of which would require an intercontinental strategy” ( Encyclopædia Britannica ). In his nine-month motorcycle trip, which he recounted in his journal titled The Motorcycle Diaries: Notes on a Latin American Journey, the figure “Che” Guevara began to develop. While in Guatemala, a progressive regime led by Jacobo Arbenz was overthrown by the CIA, and Ernesto was convinced the U.S. government always opposed progressive leftist governments, and this was a crucial aspect of what became Che Guevara’s plan to start a worldwide socialist revolution.

"Che Guevara". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2016. Web. 29 Feb. 2016

Biography.com Editors. "Che Guevara Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, 2016. Web. 29 Feb. 2016.