Robaina's

Robaina's
Robaina's plantation

Sunday 5 July 2015

Mausoleo Che Guevara (Che Guevara Mausoleum) Santa Clara

                    Love him or hate him, this isn't a Blog that talks about Politics. It's safe to say that 'Che Guevara' is one of the most renowned figures in history who's face appears on billboards and t-shirts all over the world including in remote areas of Africa. The Mausoleum contains the remains of Che and 6 of the 29 soldiers that fought with him in Bolivia, 1967. They were captured and executed while trying to start a revolution in that country. His remains were found many years later and he was buried with full military honors on 17 October 1997 on this site, with Fidel lighting the eternal flame.
                  Work on the complex was started in 1982, and it was inaugurated on December 28, 1988. It wasn't until the remains had been found that they were added. A lot of work was involved in creating this structure with a lot of volunteer hours given up by the citizens of Santa Clara. Why Santa Clara?? This is where 'Che' had won a decisive battle against the Battista Army, it was all down hill for the enemy after that. The wall depicts different aspects of 'Che's' life, the whole complex sitting on top of a hill with a view of the city on one side and a huge parking lot on the other.
                   The site gets a lot of traffic with people coming from 100 different countries, everyone wants to see 'Che'. It's estimated that between 1997 and 2009, over 3 million people visited the memorial site. There weren't a lot of people while I was there but that's because it was low season. I hope you enjoy the pictures.






















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