Wednesday, December 5, 2012

The Che Memorial in Havana


My Dad traveled to Cuba recently, where he visited Che's tomb. This is it.


He's buried underground, with 30 other revolutionaries.

I may be way off base here, but it strikes me that Cuba must deploy Che in much the same way America deploys Abraham Lincoln. As a revolutionary martyr unblemished by post-revolutionary politics and difficulties. (I know that Che lived for many years after the Cuban revolution, but he has become the face of Cuban idealism.)

This memorial, with Che elevated on a pedestal, strikes me as a little weird for a communist revolutionary. It seems like the tomb itself, in which Che was buried with 30 other soldiers, is more fitting. But people need icons.

No comments:

Post a Comment