Monumento Memorial Che Guevara
The Museo y Monumento Memorial Comandante Ernesto Che Guevara (Spanish for "Museum and Monument of the Memory of Commander Ernesto Che Guevara") in Santa Clara ( Cuba ) is a national monument of the Cuban Revolution . Since 1997 , it has also housed the native Argentinean's mausoleum . The facility is located in the west of the city on the "Plaza de la Revolución". From the opening in 1988 to September 2014, the facility had almost 3.6 million visitors.
history
The monument, designed by the architect Jorge Cao Campos and the sculptor José Delarra , was unveiled in the presence of Raul Castro to mark the 30th anniversary of the Battle of Santa Clara . After six years of construction, the facility was completed in 1988 .
Thirty years earlier, 18 guerrillas from Movimiento 26 de Julio under their Comandante Ernesto Che Guevara attacked the Tren Blindado in Santa Clara - a train fully laden with weapons and ammunition. With the captured weapons the conquest of Santa Clara and the overcoming of the Batista dictatorship succeeded.
Monument complex
In the center of the monument is the mighty-looking six-meter-high bronze statue of Che Guevara. He is shown in full combat gear and an arm in a cast. He had broken this in the decisive battle for Santa Clara. Battle scenes from his life are shown on a bas-relief next to the statue. Engraved quotes from his farewell letter, which he wrote before leaving for Bolivia , convey to the visitor the emotional reasons for continuing his struggle on the Latin American mainland.
The museum and the mausoleum are located at the rear of the monument. Designed by Blanca Hernández Guivernau , it shows personal items from Che Guevara's life, such as his uniform, cap, holster and phone. The mausoleum is modeled on a cave and houses the mortal remains of Ernesto Che Guevara. The remains of Tamara Bunkes are also among the 38 comrades-in-arms buried here . She was the only woman to join Che Guevara's fight in Bolivia.
Che Guevara's return
The “Comandante” was arrested and murdered on October 9, 1967 - after attempts to bring about a guerrilla uprising in Bolivia. In 1997 archaeologists in Bolivia found his remains and those of six of his colleagues. After the transfer to Cuba, he was with full military honors on 17 October 1997 buried .
The small wooden coffins were transported from Havana to Santa Clara in a column of green military jeeps . When the remains were unloaded in front of several hundred thousand people on Revolution Square, a choir of school children sang Carlos Puebla's " Hasta siempre, comandante ".
Fidel Castro addressed the crowd with the words: “Why did you think he would cease to exist as a fighter if you kill him? Today he is present wherever there is a just cause to be defended! Today he has become an indelible mark in history and his shining eyes, like those of a prophet , make him a symbol for all the poor in this world! "
His speech was followed by 21 cannon shots as a salute, simultaneously in Havana and Santa Clara. Air raid sirens sounded across the island in recognition of Ernesto Che Guevara's lifetime achievements. The "Comandante en Jefe" Fidel Castro personally lit the eternal flame in the mausoleum.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c http://www.cubaworld.de/cubainfos/cubas-staedte/santa-clara.html
- ↑ http://www.radiorebelde.cu/noticia/acondicionan-complejo-escultorico-ernesto-guevara-20140921/ Acondicionan Complejo Escultórico Ernesto Guevara , Radio Rebelde on September 21, 2014
- ↑ a b http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/special_reports/51519517.html ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
Coordinates: 22 ° 24 ′ 7.7 ″ N , 79 ° 58 ′ 46.4 ″ W.