Che Guevara Quotes

Argentine Marxist revolutionary (1928–1967)

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Ernesto "Che" Guevara (14 June 1928 – 9 October 1967), commonly known as Che Guevara, El Che, or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, politician, author, physician, military theorist, and guerrilla leader during the Cuban revolution. Following his execution in Bolivia, he became both a stylised countercultural icon and symbol of rebellion for leftist movements worldwide.

From: Wikiquote (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Pen Names: Pelado • Teté • Furibundo Serna • Fuser • Chancho • Chang-Cho • Luís Hernández Gálvez • Tatu • Adolfo Mena González • Ramón • Fernando Sacamuelas

Native Name: Ernesto Guevara

Alternative Names: El Che • Che • Ernesto Guevara de la Serna • Ernesto Rafael Guevara de la Serna

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My Marxism has taken root and become purified. I believe in armed struggle as the only solution for those peoples who fight to free themselves, and I am consistent with my beliefs.

Once again I feel beneath my heels the ribs of Rocinante. Once more, I'm on the road with my shield on my arm.

Hasta la victoria siempre

If my final hour finds me under other skies, my last thought will be of this people and especially of you.

I leave a people who received me as a son. That wounds a part of my spirit. I carry to new battlefronts the faith that you taught me, the revolutionary spirit of my people, the feeling of fulfilling the most sacred of duties: to fight against imperialism wherever it may be.

Other nations of the world summon my modest efforts of assistance.

I have lived magnificent days.

I feel that I have fulfilled the part of my duty that tied me to the Cuban revolution in its territory, and I say farewell to you, to the comrades, to your people, who now are mine.

In a revolution one wins or dies, if it is a real one.

The basic clay of our work is the youth; we place our hope in it and prepare it to take the banner from our hands.

We socialists are freer because we are more fulfilled; we are more fulfilled because we are freer. The skeleton of our complete freedom is already formed. The flesh and the clothing are lacking; we will create them.

Our children must have, or lack, those things that the children of the ordinary citizen have or lack; our families should understand this and struggle for it to be that way.

It is not a matter of how many kilograms of meat one has to eat, or of how many times a year someone can go to the beach, or how many pretty things from abroad you might be able to buy with present-day wages. It is a matter of making the individual feel more complete, with much more inner wealth and much more responsibility.

The fault of many of our artists and intellectuals lies in their original sin: they are not true revolutionaries. We can try to graft the elm tree so that it will bear pears, but at the same time we must plant pear trees. New generations will come that will be free of original sin.

A school of artistic experimentation is invented, which is said to be the definition of freedom; but this “experimentation” has its limits, imperceptible until there is a clash, that is, until the real problems of individual alienation arise. Meaningless anguish or vulgar amusement thus become convenient safety valves for human anxiety. The idea of using art as a weapon of protest is combated. Those who play by the rules of the game are showered with honors — such honors as a monkey might get for performing pirouettes. The condition is that one does not try to escape from the invisible cage.