Remembering Che: My Life with Che Guevara

by Aleida March Narrated by Irene Machado, Ignacio Rodríguez De Anca, Ernesto Báez

Overview

La viuda del Che Guevara recuerda el gran romance revolucionario trágicamente acortado por el asesinato del Che en Bolivia.

Cuando Aleida March primero conoció al Che Guevara, ella era una combatiente de veinte años del interior de Cuba, él era un ya legendario revolucionario y un exuberante líder. Pero había una faceta más humana del Che a la cual Aleida accedió exclusivamente, primero como su compañera de confianza y luego como el amor de su vida. 

Con gran inmediatez y agudez, Aleida relata la historia de su romance épico -su cortejo intermitente contra el trasfondo de la guerra revolucionaria cubana, su casamiento cuando terminó la guerra y el nacimiento de sus cuatro hijos, hasta el asesinato trágico del Che en Bolivia menos de diez años después. Incluye fragmentos de sus cartas y un conmovedor cuento corto sobre el Che escrito por Aleida, este libro es un retrato íntimo del hombre detrás de la leyenda y la mujer tenaz y valiente que más lo conocía -un cuento sobre amor apasionado, sacrificio desgarrador y firme heroísmo.

ENGLISH DESCRIPTION

In this Spanish-language edition, Che Guevara's widow remembers a great revolutionary romance tragically cut short by Che's assassination in Bolivia.

When Aleida March first met Che Guevara, she was a twenty-year-old combatant from the provinces of Cuba, he an already legendary revolutionary and larger-than-life leader. And yet there was another, more human side to Che, one Aleida was given special access to, first as his trusted compañera and later as the love of his life.

With great immediacy and poignancy, Aleida recounts the story of their epic romance-their fitful courtship against the backdrop of the Cuban revolutionary war, their marriage at the war's end and the birth of their four children, up through Che's tragic assassination in Bolivia less than ten years later. Featuring excerpts from their letters and a moving short story Che wrote for Aleida, here is an intimate look at the man behind the legend and the tenacious, courageous woman who knew him best-a story of passionate love, wrenching sacrifice, and unwavering heroism.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

Che Guevara's widow continues her work to help folks see her late husband as a "real person," and not just a symbol of political revolution, in this slim but poignant memoir. Using stark prose, and without getting overly sentimental, she effectively shows Guevara as a man with "great dreams" and a "creative spirit," who in addition to being an effective political leader, was a husband, lover, poet, and father of five. It's the first time March has written about her relationship with Guevara, who mere months after they met "declared his love" while the two sat alone in a military jeep. "Looking back, I think Che didn't exactly choose the best moment to declare his love." Perhaps there are no "best" moments for a couple during a revolution, but as the never-before-published letters and family photos show, the two clearly had many loving and intimate ones. The letters also help to portray another, less self-assured Guevara, as he writes in regard to his children with March: "How difficult it will be for them one day to love me like a father and not regard me as some distant monster they are obliged to love." Comprised of what March calls her "most cherished memories," the book is both a love story and a new, engaging perspective on the Cuban Revolution and one of its iconic leaders. Photos. (May)

Library Journal

Argentine doctor and revolutionary Che Guevara married the Cuban March in 1959 as Castro's revolutionaries were solidifying their hold on Cuba's government. Their story, first published in Spanish in 2008, is told from March's perspective in an often remarkable look at the figure many 20th-century idealists consider history's greatest revolutionary. Married only eight years before Che's death in Bolivia in 1967, the couple had four children. March's narrative—romantic, courageous, and insightful—is powerful and noteworthy for the author's honesty and commitment to rebellion and revolution. March relates her daily life of danger and fear among the targets of the Batista regime, and her reflections on Castro and other revolutionary leaders make for first-rate history. She does not address Che's brutality and ruthlessness toward perceived traitors, but what does come across is a love story against the backdrop of revolution. Countless family pictures and samples of Che's personal writings highlight an exciting addition to the literature of Che, Castro, and the Cuban revolution. VERDICT For all readers—whether specialists or general readers—not fluent in Spanish but interested in Che and the history of Cuba, America's millstone.—Boyd Childress, formerly with Auburn Univ. Lib., AL

Product Details

BN ID:	2940159494627
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	01/16/2024
Series:	The Che Guevara Library
Edition description:	Unabridged
Language:	Spanish

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