Che: The Misunderstood Icon

by Jannine Pizarroe

Abstract

This research explores the origin and development of the icon that Che Guevara has become. It attempts to explain the reasons for his enduring popularity as a symbol over the years. The focus of my research is on how and why Che Guevara has become such a popular global icon among young people across the world. Several factors contributed to the origin of Che as an icon, such as: The fact that he lived and died in the sixties, the way in which he died, his physical appearance, and his ambiguous ideas. These factors have led to the endurance of his image throughout the years. Today, Che's image is often misunderstood or misinterpreted, and there is a lack of knowledge among the users of the icon. This research concludes that Che Guevara has become a versatile icon, highly commercialized for consumers who like the Che fashion, but know little about the real person behind the image.

"Long live the rebel in all of us... there's no cooler iconic image than Che! New colors SAGE or POWDER BLUE have arrived, and we still have a few left in sand or purple," reads the description of the babies' latest fashion at an online baby store (http://www.lalaling.com). "Che lives!" says a shirt on a subway rider. The word "Revolution" appears on Che Guevara watches at the New York Public Library gift store. The baby or the person wearing the Che icon is exhibiting something considered "cool" by many people. However, the New York Public Library's act of selling Che Guevara watches was not considered cool at all. Jay Nordingler, Managing Editor for the National Review Online, says that the watches caused much outrage among Cuban-Americans, not only for selling the icon in such a place, but because the librarians questioned did not know much about who Che Guevara was or his link with Fidel Castro (2004, p. 28). As a result, the New York Public Library was forced to remove the watches from its store in order to keep the public happy.

The example of the New York Public Library's gift store demonstrates the lack of information behind the image. The store probably ordered the watches because they were a good deal, and unintentionally offended those who knew enough about Che Guevara's life to disagree with the idea of him as an icon. Whether he was an assassin or a hero is not really the big issue in the wearing of his image today. The massive fascination of young people with this icon is in ignorance of Che Guevara's ideals. In fact, the majority of young people do not even think about why they wear Che's image, or they assign their own message to the image of Che, making the man and his ideals a versatile symbol that can adjust to any message the consumer wants to transmit.

The person behind the widely likable icon is Ernesto Guevara de la Serna. He was born on June 14 of 1928 in Rosario, Argentina (Castañeda, 1998). Ernesto was nicknamed "Che" because Che is a word widely used in Argentina at the end or beginning of a sentence. Che said it all the time as he spoke, and it translates into something like "pal" (O'Hagan, 2004, para. 22). Later in his life, he officially adopted "Che" as his middle name. According to Anderson (1997), Che endured a terrible case of asthma for all his life. Because of this fact, he decided to graduate from medicine. However, he seldom practiced as a doctor. Instead, he became a revolutionary in Mexico upon meeting Fidel Castro; together, they trained soldiers and joined forces to invade Cuba. The invasion of Cuba in 1959 was Che Guevara's biggest accomplishment (Castañeda, 1998). Che became Castro's most trusted person after Raul (Castro's brother). Castro made Che a Cuban citizen, and named him Minister of Industries (Anderson, 1997). However, Che still wanted to do more for the world. He wanted to bring the revolution to other countries (Castañeda, 1998). He tried to organize guerrillas in the Congo, in Argentina, and in Bolivia (Anderson, 1997).

According to Bonachea and Valdes, Che's ideas were influenced by Karl Marx. Che believed that he could change undeveloped countries by turning them toward socialism, especially Latin America (Bonachea & Valdes, 1969). Che thought that the only way to triumph over capitalism was through revolution. Due to Che Guevara's success in Cuba, he appeared to be capable of anything; his outstanding willpower was his virtue and his defect (if he had to kill, he did). He was also a very controversial figure because he expressed his thoughts openly, without regard to what others would think or the trouble his words could bring. In 1967, Che was captured and killed in Bolivia (Anderson, 1997). In 1997, his remains were also found in this country. In actuality, they are in a mausoleum in Cuba. (O'Hagan, para. 2).
The origin of the popularity of Che Guevara's image starts with his life and death during the sixties. The fact that Che Guevara's success and failure took place in the beginning of the sixties contributed to the immortalization of his portrait. According to Castañeda (1998), everything that emerged in the sixties has remained through time, especially cultural facts (p. 409). Castañeda (1998) argues that if Che Guevara had lived in a time other than the sixties, he would not be as idolized as he is now. "Had Che perished in the Congo two years earlier, or in Argentina sometime later, the singular harmony between the men and the epoch might not have come about" (p. 391).

Che Guevara became famous while he was alive during the sixties, but it was also during the sixties that Che Guevara's death took place, and that is perhaps one of the most important factors that contributed to the origin of his use as an icon. He was thirty-nine, a young age to die; he should have had many years ahead of him and, according to Castañeda (1998), perhaps Che could have accomplished many other successes if he had lived. "He would still have achieved epic feats and lived a glorious life, but his face would not appear on millions of T-shirts decades later" (p. 391). During the sixties, following Che Guevara's death, a slogan also emerged and helped his immortalization. O'Hagan (2004) says that the slogan "Che Lives!" originated and began to appear on walls all over the world in 1968 (para. 3), reassuring his admirers that Che was alive. Today, this slogan continues to appear, along with Che Guevara's face. But what exactly is alive remains obscure.