E. Che Guevara – The Motorcycle Diaries – Comment.

 

Che Guevara (1928-1967) is likely the most famous or infamous Latin American revolutionary in the modern era. Argentinian born, a trained physician, his specialty was leprosy, a Marxist scholar, author and a military strategist focusing on guerilla warfare; in 1951, he set off with his friend and colleague, Alberto Granado, a fellow physician, on a 500cc Norton to see the places on the continent he dreamed about as a young lad.  

The Motorcycle Diaries is slightly a misnomer because at around page 40 in the text, La Poderosa, (The Powerful One), nickname for the bike, breaks down beyond repair, forcing the young lads to walk and hitchhike along the rest of their journey.  

Much of the text describes the boy’s hardships while negotiating their way across borders, seeking out dry places to sleep and acquiring their next meal. The people they meet are friendly and generous with what little food they own. There is one “con” that Che uses to obtain a meal that is quite harmless. Most people will offer wine, local alcohol, beer etc., though are reluctant to share a meal. After one drink, Che would remark that in Argentina, the consumption of alcohol should always include a full meal. This ploy often worked, their hosts sharing what food they had.  

Che describes the massive mining in Peru at the time. These mines are US owned and run, and the obvious exploitation of the Indian workers, and most resources and profits taken by their American masters. This was the beginning of Che’s revolutionary mission that ended in his assassination years later.  

As mentioned, Che and Alberto’s special study was leprosy. In the diary, he mentioned visiting a few leprosy hospitals, consulting with the resident physicians, and commenting on their debilitated conditions. One scene in the text was quite moving, where the lad’s sat and drank with the patients, all at different stages of the disease. As permanent outcasts, this simple act of kindness and respect significantly raised morale, a bright spot in an otherwise suffering existence.  

Guevara writes of his disgust with imperialist exploitation of these various Latin American countries, primarily by the United States, and one can see this growing dismay in The Motorcycle Diaries. We witness his revolutionary spirit begin in this text after his experiences on the road.  

Many are aware of Che Guevara’s meeting with the Castro brothers in Mexico, and the subsequent overthrow of the US backed Batista regime in Cuba.  

The Motorcycle Diaries is well worth the read for anyone interested in the young mind of the 20th centuries most symbolic activist, dissident and colorful revolutionaries.