Che Guevara New Diary Published

Cuba has published a new diary of legendary freedom fighter Che Guevara."Diary of a Combatant" tells of Guevara's experiences from the time he arrived in Cuba in 1956 until just before Fidel Castro and his rebel colleagues declared victory over the Cuban government on January 1, 1959. Guevara’s wife Aleida March had kept the diaries a secret for fifty years but has recently had a change of heart. She said she wanted "to show his work, his thoughts, his life, so that the Cuban people and the entire world get to know him and don't distort things anymore”. Other diaries have been published and achieved commercial success. "The Motorcycle Diaries," about his tour of Latin America as a 23-year-old medical student was a highly successful movie.

Ernesto "Che" Guevara was born in Argentina in 1928. He qualified as a medical doctor but his political opinions led him to learn about the injustices in South and Central America. His motorbike tour took him to many impoverished regions of the continent. He became a fierce opponent of capitalism, which he said created great inequality. Guevara became one of history’s best-known freedom fighters. His role in the Cuban revolution made him an icon of the twentieth century. He was captured and executed in 1967 in Bolivia after starting an unsuccessful revolution there. Cubans paid tribute to him after the publication, saying: “He had an iron will, an extraordinary courage, and a deep sense of dignity”.