Che con niño

Che con niño statue in Santa Clara

Che con niño or Che de los niños ( German : Che with child or Che of the children ) is a bronze statue of the revolutionary Che Guevara erectedin 1999 in the Cuban city of Santa Clara .

description

Che con niño , frontal view

Guerrillero Heroico , photograph by Alberto Korda , March 5, 1960

Che Guevara in riot gear at the funeral march for the victims of the La Coubre explosion , March 5, 1960

Che con niño is a life-size bronze statue. It stands on a concrete base that leads to a three-step staircase in front of an administration building. The statue represents the Cuban revolutionary and guerrilla leader Che Guevara, who moves with a large and energetic step away from the building. His posture as well as the numerous folds of his clothing and hair give the impression of great dynamism. On his left arm he carries an unclothed little boy who, like Che, looks forward over the viewer and presents a toy on his left hand. In numerous places the statue shows small symbols for the life, the idiosyncrasies, the work and the goals of Che, as they have entered into the Cuban reports and legends about him.

Che's facial features, his hairstyle and the beret with the five-pointed star correspond to the Guerrillero Heroico photograph , which Alberto Korda took on March 5, 1960 and has since been reproduced many times as a classic representation of Che. While Che Guevara in the photo of Kordas is wearing the jacket of a tracksuit that is difficult to convey through propaganda, the statue shows a Che Guevara in a combat suit , as he often wore in public during his lifetime and also during official events.

Location

In the central Cuban city of Santa Clara , the Cuban Revolution was brought to success in 1958 by Che Guevara and the units of the Cuban rebel army under his command with the victory of the Battle of Santa Clara . Santa Clara is home to some of the most important scenes and places of remembrance of the revolution. The Che con niño statue is on Avenida Liberación, opposite the junction with Street F and in front of the entrance to the Comité Provincial del Partido , the headquarters of the Communist Party of Cuba in the Villa Clara province . After the conquest of the city, this building housed the headquarters of the revolutionary troops under Che Guevara.

Che con niño is smaller and less known than the monumental statue Ches, erected in 1988 and part of the Monumento Memorial Che Guevara . Nevertheless, it is one of the monuments with which the city commemorates its important role during the revolution. The city tours make a short stop here on the way from the Monumento al Tren Blindado to Loma del Capiro . The statue is a popular motif for souvenir photos of tourists and dozens of bouquets of flowers are deposited every day. Parts of the statue appear polished due to the thousands of touches by the visitors, especially the boots.

Artist

Che con niño was created by the Basque sculptor Casto Solano Marroyo , born in 1958 . Solano designed the child on Che's arm after his own three-year-old son. Many of Solano's sculptures in public space show the main characters represented in the work, accompanied by children

Symbolism in detail

Casto Solano called his sculpture a symbol of recognition of human values and a tribute to Che Guevara's sincerity. In an interview he explained to the university professor Arístides Rondón Velázquez some of the symbols with which he provided his statue. They should stand for the values represented by Che Guevara and for his personal sacrifices:

The naked, so innocent, child in Che's arm stands for the goals of the revolution, progress, hope, the future and the next generation of Cuba. He is holding a toy in his left hand as a symbol of freedom, and overall the statue is a representation of Che Guevara carrying the Cuban people to freedom;

the child on his right shoulder, riding a billy goat, is said to represent young Che, who preferred to go to battle instead of looking after the house. And it stands for the mountain landscape in Bolivia , in which Che operated and in which goats are an important means of transport;

the cigar in Che's right hand is an allusion to his asthma and his passion for Habanos ( Montecristo No. 4 ). It is rumored that Che's cigar consumption has given him relief from his asthma;

the beret with the star shows Che Guevara's rank as comandante of the Cuban rebel army, the curls of hair blowing in the wind convey an impression raised from reality, almost like in the depictions of gods of antiquity;

A hammock is hung between two locks of hair behind the right ear . It stands for Che's renunciation of a comfortable family life in exchange for a damp hammock in the Sierra Maestra ;

the motorcyclist on the right lower leg stands for Che's trip with Alberto Granado in 1951 and 1952, which was documented by Granado's travel report With Che through South America and filmed in 2004 under the title The Journey of Young Che ;

the right breast pocket has an incised drawing showing Don Quixote with his lance on his horse Rosinante. The depiction represents Che's passion for reading and the great value he placed on literacy and education;

In the place of the belt lock there is an opening from which a group of people is pushing forward. They represent the 38 comrades who fell with Che in the battle in Bolivia;

on the left breast pocket, above the heart, there is a lying infinity symbol on which two children are doing gymnastics. They embody Che's love for children and follow the rhythm of his heart;

on the left side of the chest, where Che was hit by one of the fatal bullets, there is a window with a waiting woman looking out.

Detail shots of the statue I.
At the belt lock there is an opening from which a group of people is pushing out, Ches' fallen comrades
Right lower leg with figure of a motorcyclist, for Che's trip with Alberto Granado
Left leg pocket with figures of two mountaineers
Window on the left side of the chest, with a waiting woman looking out

Detail shots of the statue II
A child riding a billy goat on the shoulder and an incised drawing on the back
Right elbow with figures of four mountaineers and a donkey, opening under the right armpit
Right breast pocket, designed like a book, with the mounted character Don Quixote with her lance on it
Right thigh with a lying figure

Web links

Commons : Che con niño - collection of images, videos and audio files

Che con niño , picture gallery with numerous detailed images on the website of Casto Solano.

Individual evidence

^ ^A ^b Che con niño (Le Che avec l'enfant) , website Statues Quo. Voyage à la rencontre de sculptures insolites, sympas, drôles ou étonnantes à travers le monde ... , June 28, 2017, accessed on December 21, 2018.

↑ ^a ^b ^c without statement of responsibility [Gladys de Mol]: Opdracht deel 1: Beschrijving van het artwork 'El Che con un niño en el brazo' as voorbeeld van 'Absorption' (volgens M. Fried) . Term paper, Arteveldehogeschool , Gent , December 18, 2016, PDF, 1.0 MB , accessed on December 21, 2018.

↑ ^a ^b ^c Osmaira González Consuegra: Che con niño, una escultura cautivadora , website of the Vanguardia newspaper , June 13, 2016, accessed December 21, 2018.

22.41182 -79.95668Coordinates: 22 ° 24 ′ 42.6 ″ N , 79 ° 57 ′ 24 ″ W.

[SQ-1] A ^b Che con niño (Le Che avec l'enfant) , website Statues Quo. Voyage à la rencontre de sculptures insolites, sympas, drôles ou étonnantes à travers le monde ... , June 28, 2017, accessed on December 21, 2018.