Santa Clara

Che Guevara monument
Originally uploaded by louise_parmenter

The main attractions in Santa Clara are the Che Guevara memorials, which were very interesting and exciting to visit. Che's body was eventually removed from Bolivia, where he had been shot by a firing squad of the US-backed Bolivian army in the 1960s, and buried here in the mausoleum below the memorial pictured. I was impressed by the memorial, the beautifully designed mausoleum of local stone and timber and the museum dedicated to Che's life. To me he is more than a cult figure, more than an icon appearing on t-shirts all over the world. Having travelled most of Latin America and seen at first hand the desperate poverty of most indiginous people, the stark inequality of wealth and the constant US meddling in the politics of each Latin American country, I have come to highly respect Che's aims, although would never have joined a guerilla army had I been alive and in Latin America then.

The other memorial is a monument to Che's capture of the armoured and troop train of the Battista army in Santa Clara. The original train is displayed and houses documents concerning the successful operation whereby the track was damaged so that the train derailed and the troops were forced into open combat. It enabled the capture of Santa Clara and then of Havana.

Here are a few photos.


DISTANCE TRAVELLED (OVERLAND) SINCE USHUAIA: 34,945 KM