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companero che .com - the truth about Ernesto Che Guevara
 
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- childhood            
- adolescence            

- adulthood

           

1928 - 1940

Ernesto Guevara de la Serna was born on 14th June 1928 in the city of Rosario, Argentina. He is the firstborn to the couple formed by Ernesto Guevara Lynch and Celia de la Serna y Llosa. The birth of Ernesto in Rosario is a chance occurrence. His parents had left the area of Misiones, where they resided, for Buenos Aires several days earlier. However, since Celia was not feeling well, they decided to stay in Rosario in a house at 480 Entre Rios St. After several days in Rosario, Ernesto?s parents return with their child to Misiones, where they had a mate plantation in Port Caraguatay, close to the border of Brazil and Paraguay. The house where the family lived was located on a hill; the floor, walls and rood were made of wood.

 

On 2nd of May 1930, while spending a rather cool day with his parents at the San Isidro Nautical Club, Ernesto had his first asthma attack. This disease would continue to affect him all his life, but it was never a limitation for him. Later, for several years, Ernesto?s parents moved to several places in Argentina, searching for an adequate climate that would attenuate the frequent asthma crises that the small child suffered. First they lived in Buenos Aires and then they moved to the province of Cordoba. They settled in the city of Alta Gracia. His asthma bouts worsened in 1931 and after navigating with his parents along the Parana river were more frequent.


Taught by his mother, Ernesto starts to read and write. One of his first letter was the one he sent to his aunt Beatriz,dated January 22nd, 1933.

 

?Dear Beatriz, the surprise is that I can swim, precisely on your birthday I learned how to swim. Kisses from Ernestico?

 

Because of his asthma Ernesto did not start school at the established age. For some time, his mother taught him his first lessons. She also started to teach him French. In 1935 Ernesto started attending the Jose de San Martin School in Alta Gracia in second grade. The Guevara family continued to grow with the birth of another two children, Roberto (May 18th, 1931) and Ana Maria (January 28th, 1934). Ernesto used to go on the excursion with his parents in the hills near Alta Gracia. He loved the countryside, nature and the animals.

 

In July 1936, just before Ernesto turned eight, the fighting started between the republicans and the fascists in Spain. The events in Spain awakened the interest of the family and of the friends that visited their home. The involvement of his uncle, Cayetano Cordoba Iturburu as a war correspondent exerted on him special influence. Young Ernesto used to listen attentively to talk on the development of the war in Spain. He went as far as to put small flags on a map to indicate new developments in the Spanish Civil War. Also in the games with other children in the backyard of the house where Guevaras lived, Ernesto reproduced the actions of the Spanish patriots. They dug holes and in the imaginary battles they cried:

 

"Onward Militia !! Long live the Spanish republic!!"


Che's adolescence ->

   
A detailed chronology of Che's life you can find
in this book "A Brave Man" on Cuba Directo website
   

     
 

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