2:00 pm By Maegan La Mala · Celebrities| Movies| TV · Comments Off
8 Jan 2009After watching this clip of Benicio Del Toro, I am understanding his sex appeal a little more. Colbert and Del Toro discuss Che, beard stroking, iconography and the making of a Communist hero.
Via / The Latin Americanist
1:29 pm By Maegan La Mala · Cuba| Movies · 2 Comments
16 Dec 2008
I haven’t seen Steven Soderbergh’s epic, four hour, two part biopic on Ernesto Che Guevara : “El Argentino” and “Guerrilla”. I’ll see it eventually (if anyone wants to watch two kids for day so I can see it, that would rock). Pero, even without seeing it, there’s enough internet reading on it and it seems like even a dead revolutionary can’t escape Latino stereotyping.
11:37 am By Maegan La Mala · Argentina| Arts| Cuba| New York City| history · 1 Comment
2 Dec 2008
Of all the things NY’ers could be angry about, some have chosen to be angry about a statue of someone pretending to be Che Guevara.
The statue actually depicts a Barcelona street performer portraying Che, part of three bronze sculptures by Christian Janowski, which were recently installed by the Public Art Fund…
“I am always fascinated to see all the examples of how, I don’t know, foolish and ill-informed people are,” said a man who gave his name as Peter. “I’m a student of the idiocy of Che Guevara worship, and I bet 99 percent of the people who see this think, wow, that’s cool. But he was just a thug. A butcher.”
9:38 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Argentina| Celebrities| Politics| history · Comments Off
16 Jun 2008
Saturday, June 14th is Flag Day in the U.S., but in Argentina, Cuba, and many other places in Latin America, June 14th was celebrated as the 80th birthday of Ernesto “el Che” Guevara. In Rosario, Argentina, a bronze statue of the legendary revolutionary was unveiled.
“I believe in the revolution, that’s why I love Che,” said Monica Nielson, 49, wearing a soldier’s beret with a single star like that worn by Guevara in a photo that turned him into a 20th Century icon.
Spanish language news shows in the United States, like Al Punto with Jorge Ramos, focused on conspiracy theories on who killed el Che. While a CIA backed operative in the Bolivian jungle is credited for the Guevara’s murder, some, including those that fought beside him, point the finger at the Fidel Catro led Cuban government.
11:21 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Uncategorized · Comments Off
26 May 2008Seems that all that learning about Che Guevara did Benicio Del Toro good, because he won the best actor award at Cannes for his role as Che Guevara in the Steven Soderbergh’s film on the revolutionary.
“I’d like to dedicate this to the man himself – Che Guevara,” said Del Toro, after accepting his second big award under the US director’s helmsmanship.
“I wouldn’t be here without Che Guevera.
“Through all the awards the movie gets, you’ll have to pay your respects to the man.”
Via / You Tube, ABC News (Australia)
12:50 pm By Maegan La Mala · Bizarro| Celebrities| houston · Comments Off
26 Oct 2007
What would you do if you had an extra $100,000 laying around? More specifically, would you buy a lock of Che Guevara’s hair? One Houston man has done just that:
Bill Butler, 61, was the only bidder for the hair, which was allegedly cut from the Marxist leader’s head before his burial in 1967.The collector described Guevara as “one of the greatest revolutionaries of the 20th century”, according to staff at the Heritage auction house in Dallas, Texas.
He plans to display the item in his bookshop in Rosenberg, just outside Houston.
5:49 pm By Maegan La Mala · Cuba| Fashion| Politics · Comments Off
11 Oct 2007
To be filed under I’ve Seen It All: Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara’s face is now on, of all things, a bikini. The Monday edition of The New York Times has a story about a topic we’ve visited quite a few times here: the commercialization of Che’s image. In it, Guevara’s daughter talks about her fight against this trend, and what she see as acceptable and unacceptable use of her father’s visage.
9:02 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Argentina| Bolivia| Cuba| history · Comments Off
9 Oct 2007
Today marks 40 years since the death, some say murder, of Ernesto Guevara, popularly known as El Che. Fidel Castro called Che an “extraordinary” human, “highly cultured and of great intelligence” in an editorial in the Cuban newspaper Granma. The Argentinian born revolutionary is being honored across Latin America today and on Monday Bolivian President Evo Morales praised el Che.
Cuba, which became Che’s second home thanks to his pivotal role in the Cuban Revolution that overthrew Batista, began its commemorations of Guevara over the weekend.
Via / El Diario/La Prensa
3:41 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Controversia| Marketing · 4 Comments
26 Dec 2006
The commercial use of Cuban revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara’s image is nothing new, but a CD case bearing his image has sparked controversy and retailer Target has pulled the item:
Target had touted a music disc carrying case for Che admirers emblazoned with the Argentine-born guerrilla’s iconic 1960 portrait by Alberto Diaz, or “Korda.” A set of small earphones was superimposed on the image, suggesting he was tuned in to an iPod or other music player.“It is never our intent to offend any of our guests through the merchandise we carry,” Target said in a statement. “We have made the decision to remove this item from our shelves and we sincerely apologize for any discomfort this situation may have caused our guests.”
Whatever you think of Che, it was irresponsible for Target not to consider the possible implications of this beforehand. To me it shows a lack of understanding and a lazy lack of research about basic Latin American history, and mainly just an attempt to be uber trendy without considering the meaning of the image.
VivirLatino is a daily publication published by 2 Mujeres Media, dedicated to featuring all the latest politics, culture, entertainment of interest to the diverse and influential Latino and Latina community in the U.S.
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