Che - Eine illustrierte Biografie

Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara is now an icon, and not just for the left. His image can be found on T-shirts, towels and coffee mugs. Spain Rodriguez’s powerful illustrations, very much in the style of the political underground comics of the 1960s, shed light on his life and the experiences that shaped him: from his motorbike journey through Latin America, through his role in the Cuban Revolution, his work as a minister and head of the central bank, to his travels to Africa and Bolivia, where he was assassinated on 9 October 1967.

Rodriguez takes us on a journey through time, recounting Cuba’s successes and setbacks following the revolution, and making it clear that the political direction the new Cuba would ultimately take remained open for a long time and can only be understood in the context of the dramatic geopolitical developments of those days and as a result of internal conflicts, not least between Che and Fidel Castro.

The Cuban Revolution was not only an important point of reference for the liberation movements of the Global South – and an example of how a dictatorship can be overthrown in the face of US imperialism – but, through Che’s writings and, not least, his image, it also reached the movements of the Global North and continues to exert an influence that should not be underestimated to this day.

‘Spain’s perspective on Che is brilliant and radical.’ – Art Spiegelman