Memory of the World - Latin America and the Caribbean
Documentary Collection Life and Works of Ernesto Che Guevara: from the originals manuscripts of its adolescence and youth to the Campaign Diary in Bolivia
The works of Ernesto Che Guevara de la Serna 19281967 intellectual and revolutionary without borders summarize the expression of a life whose example through action and ideas is inscribed in the history of the Latin American political thought of the second half of the 20th century This legacy exceeds the limits of the Third World as it embodies the permanent search for an emancipatory strategy for the underprivileged In the field of revolutionary action and theory his contributions in the form of essays articles and speeches are considerable in depth and scope His ideas injected antidogmatic and humanist creative elements into Marxist theory in an elaboration that transcends his time such as in his studies on the sociopolitical reality of Latin America and other exploited continents the mechanisms of power and the relationships between economic systems and their political structures All of this with concrete proposals and a reflective and analytical spirit Formed in the Cuban and Latin American experience his ideas have a universal character as evidenced by the worldwide influence of his writings and his personal example especially by doing what he preached as an act of faithThe collection ranges from original manuscripts from his adolescence and youth to the Bolivian Campaign Diary there are 1007 documents on a total of 8179 pages that cover the years 19281967 referring to his revolutionary work press articles biographical and personal materials as well as correspondence with various personalities and with his family Of the total documents 431 are Che´s manuscripts and 567 are about Che or related to him The collection includes iconographic material of Che and related to himThis fonds has systematized the study of the life and works of Che characterized by a selftaught education and a wide intellectual universe that interrelates theory with practice and brings him closer from early times to the knowledge of Latin America through two trips he made across the continent in the early 1950s On those trips he observed and contrasted the misery of the masses with corrupt governments These inquiries would later lead him to find the paths of the Revolution participate in the fight in Cuba become a political leader of universal stature and finally an internationalist as the closing of a life cycle He died at the age of 39 reinforcing Jean Paul Sartres description of him as the most complete man of his time
Cuba -