The original photo by Alberto Korda, March 5, 1960, showing the profile of Argentine journalist Jorge Massetti to the left and the fronds of a Cuban palm tree to the right. © Estate of Alberto Korda
…Cropped by Korda, the image loses it historical and geographical markers, and becomes El Guerrillero Heroico. © Estate of Alberto Korda
…In 1968, Jim Fitzpatrick traces the outline of Korda’s photo. Image courtesy of the artist; © Jim Fitzpatrick, 1968
…Later, in various colored forms but especially in red, Fitzpatrick’s image becomes a hit among protesters in Paris and other hot spots of resistance in the late 1960s. © Jim Fitzpatrick, 1968
…Fitzpatrick’s image becomes the template for countless other knockoffs, including “The Warhol Che”. But Andy did not make this commonly reproduced image. No one knows who did it.
…Cuban artists took to the image with abandon, cranking out Che pop art posters. Whether intentional or not, it’s an association that links Che, the armed warrior, with the freewheeling, free-love spirit of the hippy peace movement. Painting by Raúl Martínez. Collection of El Museo Nacional de Bella Artes, Havana. Image courtesy of the Center for Cuban Studies, New York
…Also by Raúl Martínez, this one typifies many artists’ fixation on different elements of Korda’s image, in this case El Comandante’s star on his beret. Collection of El Museo Nacional de Bella Artes, Havana. Image courtesy of David Kunzle.
…Or, in this one, the focus is on Che’s hair, a classic 60s symbol of freedom. La Boina del Che (Che’s Beret), Rubén Alpizar and Reinerio Tamayo. Image reproduced courtesy of the artists. Photo by Michael Casey
…Artist Paul Davis produced what is thought to be the first reproduction of the image in the United States, in this case for the cover of the political journal Evergreen. Its mimicry of Italian Christian art marks the beginning of another strain of Che art, that which deifies him. Image courtesy of the artist; © Paul Davis
…A later example: this 1996 cover of German magazine, Der Spiegel. Image courtesy of David Kunzle.
…Or for another twist, there’s this reversal of the same idea – comparing Christ to Che – in a U.K. church advertising campaign poster. Image courtesy of The Churches Advertising Network.
…And as the idealized myth of Che becomes distant from the daily reality of a country that is communist in name but which is, for better or worse, increasingly integrated into the global capitalist economy, Cuban artists can’t resist using the image as a commentary on that society. This riff on Warhol and government propaganda is by Cuban Alfredo Manzo Cedeño. From Michael Casey’s personal collection.
A hand-painted “piquetero” flag among political banners at a rally organized by supporters of President Nestor Kirchner in Argentina, May 2006. Photo by Michael Casey
The ubiquitous red Che flag at a March 2007 rally to commemorate the Argentine military coup of 1976. Photo by Michael Casey
The same flag at the same March 2007 rally accompanies a sheet of photos and names of Argentina’s “disappeared” carried by the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo. Photo by Michael Casey
Murga dance troupe leader Gustavo Alonso shows his allegiance to Che. The words on his drum are taken from a famous Guevara phrase: “Trembling with indignation over any injustice committed.” Photo by Michael Casey
Activist youths from Argentina’s Jovenes de Pie movement. The banners contains another famous Che phrase: “I am not a liberator; liberators do not exist. It is the people who liberate themselves.” Photo by Natalie Brady; © Natalie Brady/Faction Films
Boy in an Buenos Aires slum, one of the Jovenes de Pie banners behind him. Photo by Natalie Brady; © Natalie Brady/Faction Films
Visitors from around Latin America attended a rally in Vallegrande, Bolivia, on October 9, 2007 for the 40th anniversary of Che’s death in nearby La Higuera. Photo by Josefina Tommasi.
Cuban doctors seconded to Bolivia at the annual October 8 Che anniversary in La Higuera. Photo by Michael Casey
For some people, the expression “Be Like Che” applies to the physical appearance, too. Like Elvis impersonators flocking to Graceland, Che lookalikes can be found at the annual anniversary of Guevara’s death in La Higuera.
Plastic flower arrangement and calling card for a Che Guevara cultural center for children in Samaipata, Bolivia, are placed on the Vallegrande hospital laundry room wash basin. It’s the site where Che’s body lay after he was executed on October 9, 1967. Photo by Josefina Tommasi.
A Che stencil alongside those of Bolivian President Evo Morale (right) and unidentified politician (center) on a political mural in La Paz, Bolivia. Photo by Michael Casey
A Venezuelan woman at a rally in favor of President Hugo Chavez, Caracas. Her “Fantastic Four of the Revolution” T-shirt shows the images of Símon Bolivar, Chavez, Che and Fidel Castro. Photo by Michael Casey
The idealized myth of Che Guevara and his unwavering commitment to a cause translate variously into different fields of endeavor, where the icon simply connotes endurance and determination. Here, a mountain climber at the summit of Mt. Fuji, Japan, wears the image on his sleeve. Photo by Pablo Bertorello Rodriguez.
For others, Che is a straight symbol of rebellion and freedom. Perhaps that’s why the image appears on this motorcycle in Mauritius. Photo by Anton Bowker-Douglass.
Packaging for a Che Guevara wig sold in Buenos Aires. Photo by Michael Casey.
Condom. Image courtesy of the exhibition “Revolution and Commerce: Portrait of Che Guevara by Alberto Korda,” curator Trisha Ziff.
Magnum ice cream wrapper. The slogan reads “The revolutionary struggle of the cherries was squashed as they were trapped between two layers of chocolate. May their memory live on in your mouth!” Image courtesy of David Kunzle
Cartoon by Sergio Langer. Caption reads: “Not Evo, Nor Chávez, Nor Lula…The tastiest form of socialism is Cuba’s.” Image courtesy of the artist.
Flyer advertising a talk by Humberto Fontova at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Photo by Taos Turner.
Graphic artist Oleg Atbashian’s Che Is Dead, Get Over It. Courtesy of ThePeoplesCube.com and Che-Mart.com.
Souvenirs, Alta Grcacia, Argentina. Photo by Michael Casey
Balloon seller, Vallegrande, Bolivia. Photo by Josefina Tommasi
Products designed by Jimena Chague and Soledad Calvano of Stickme.com.ar, Argentina. Courtesy of the designers. Photo by Michael Casey
Wine shop, Cinque Terre, Italy. Photo by Catherine Mackenzie
Flyer promoting musical concert, Vallegrande, Bolivia. Photo by Josefina Tommasi
Truck advertising Che rum and cola drink in Vallegrande, Bolivia. Photo by Josefina Tommasi
Che’s childhood home in Alta Gracia, Argentina, with a sculpture of him as boy. Photo by Michael Casey
Billboard outside the Che memorial in Santa Clara, Cuba, with the classic Cuban catch cry, “We will be like Che!” Photo by Michael Casey
A monument to Che outside a hospital in Santa Clara. Photo by Michael Casey
Bolivian women at the giant bust of Che in La Higuera. Photo by Michael Casey
Argentine sculptor Andres Zerneri in front of his then-unfinished national monument to Che Guevara, which was eventually cast with the household bronze items of thousands of donors. Photo by Michael Casey
