Revered by some, reviled by others -- Ernesto “Che” Guevara continues to be one the most controversial figures in Latin American history.
Tuesday marked the 45th anniversary of Guevara’s assassination, a man known for Marxist ideologies and guerrilla warfare tactics that turned him into one of the leaders of the Cuban revolution that overthrew Fulgencio Batista’s regime in 1959.
“He was incredibly restless. He was always doing things that attracted attention,” Juan Martín Guevara told Argentine radio station Vorterix on the anniversary of his brother’s assassination.
Though many consider him a cultural hero -- a revolutionary fighting for social equality and a Latin America free from imperialistic influences -- others remember the ruthless man that executed between 156 and 550 prisoners in Cuba without trial.
But “Che” does not stand alone. Latino rebels and revolutionaries fill the pages of Latin America’s history book -- from the wars of independence to modern civil rights movements -- these individuals have been immortalized because they fought back, resisted in the name of their ideologies and their people.
Read the stories behind Latino revolutionaries that changed history.
