Argentina unveils belated homage to fighter Guevara

Argentine sculptor Andres Zerneri on board a sand vessel with the statue he made of revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara. (AGENCIA ROSARIO/AFP/Getty Images)

ROSARIO, Argentina - A towering bronze statue of Ernesto "Che" Guevara was unveiled yesterday in the Argentine city where he was born exactly 80 years ago, the first such monument to the revolutionary icon in his homeland.

Hundreds of students and leftist activists descended on the port city of Rosario to pay homage to the long-haired guerrilla fighter. He left his country as a young man to lead armed struggles including Cuba's 1959 revolution alongside Fidel Castro.

"El Che," a national hero in communist 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 middle-class Rosario apartment building where Guevara was born in 1928 after the local council put up a commemorative plaque there.

A handful of high schools bear Guevara's name, and a small museum opened in one of his former homes in 2001. But in a country with a penchant for naming streets and avenues after obscure Spanish viceroys, his absence is notable, said leftist historian Felipe Pigna.

"It's disgraceful that in a city like Buenos Aires . . . there's not a single street named after Dr. Guevara," he said.

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

"Che is more of a historical figure nowadays," said Horacio Ghirardi, organizer 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 Havana, Vice President Carlos Lage of Cuba praised Guevara as an icon.

A series of acts took place last week to mark the anniversary, such as days of unpaid voluntary labor - something advocated by Che, who is remembered for toiling shirtless on building sites and cutting sugar cane.

"We're sure that many more revolutionaries will come from this land, inspired by your example," Bolivian student Erwin Machado said in Santa Clara, the city in central Cuba that Guevara "liberated" in 1958 in the decisive battle of the Cuban revolution.

Guevara's daughter, Aleida Guevara, arrived in Rosario to cheers and chants of "Viva!" yesterday when she visited a makeshift campsite set up for the anniversary celebrations.

"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.

But for Che's childhood friends, the 2.7-ton, 12-foot statue made out of thousands of melted-down keys, marks a welcome turning point in attitudes.

Skeptics suggest Rosario's leaders just want to cash in on the lucrative Che brand by attracting tourists to the city in which he did not grow up. Guevara spent most of his childhood in neighboring Cordoba Province.

And many Argentines say Guevara did nothing for his country, leaving at an early age to fight battles elsewhere and eventually becoming a citizen of Cuba.

For some, he remains 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."