Che Guevara

Ernesto “Che” Guevara.  Although you might not recognize his name, I’m sure you'll recognize his face.  His image has had somewhat of a cult following.  I see him all the time on t-shirts as I pass through the mall, the grocery store, down the street, at amusement parks, at weddings, during morning mass.  Okay, so maybe not at weddings or at mass, but you get the point.  Such popularity begs the question, “who is the man behind the likeness?”  And an even bigger question has recently arisen.  What does Che Guevara have to do with Jay-Z?

Che Guevara was born in Argentina in 1928.  He was diagnosed with asthma, from which he suffered all his life.  He received most of his education at home, and was an avid reader of Freud and Marx.  He attended college at Buenos Aires University in Argentina in 1947, where he studied medicine in order to learn more about his disease.  He also took up a significant interest in Leprosy, from which he became a volunteer in aiding those with the debilitating disease. 

Che was an eyewitness to the Fascist regime of Juan Peron in Argentina.  It was as a result of this that Guevara grew a hatred for “puppet” governments like the parliamentary democratic one he witnessed, as well as a hatred for military politicians and the army, the capitalist oligarchy, and indeed the wickedness of imperialism.  In Guevara’s eyes, there was no better example of imperialism than the United States of America.  He hated the USA greatly.

Che became a fighter in many political wars (though he never seemed very interested in the politics of things).  He fought in Argentina, Bolivia, Guatemala, Mexico, and the Congo in Africa.  He is probably most noted for befriending, helping, and playing a key role in the rise to power of Fidel Castro in Cuba.  To make a very long, but interesting, story short, Guevara, believing in the doctrine that each person has a responsibility to their society and brothers, and that no one person or group should reign over others, joined Castro in creating a Communist country and enemy to the United States.

Guevara became Cuban ambassador to the United Nations, where he vehemently argued points that conflicted both with democracy as well as Castro’s communism.  Indeed, his views had developed into Socialism, as a book that he wrote indicates.  As a result, Castro essentially cut ties with Guevara in 1965.  Guevara was later captured and executed while leading a guerrilla revolt in Bolivia in 1967.

So there I am, in my co-Resident Advisor’s dorm room, December 1st, 2001.  We, and a couple of friends, have gathered around to watch the highly publicized MTV Unplugged.  This episode was going to feature the rap industry’s biggest artist, Jay-Z.  And then he hits the stage, once again likening himself unto a rap god by referring to himself as “HOVA.”  Throughout his performance, it wasn't his mild-blasphemous references to God that frustrated me, it was his attire.  Jay-Z--complete with a beanie, large diamond studded earrings, and a platinum necklace--was wearing a shirt with Che Guevara’s image on it. 

Now for those of you that didn’t take the time to read Guevara’s in depth biography, let me let you in on something.  Jay-Z is the epitome of what Guevara hated.  Here stands a man that is 100 million dollars richer than ninety-some percent of the people that live in the same country he earned his money in.  Here is a man that is being exalted by the media and fans despite the fact that he doesn’t live the life that most of the people he is being exalted by live.  Furious I was and angry I am. 

One might argue that Jay-Z is trying to send a message that Socialism or Marxism or Communism is the way to go.  Well, if that is the message that “HOV” is trying to get across, then he should live the life instead of just purporting to be about it.  Guevara certainly lived the life.  Che’s children have remarked that they hardly saw their father when he was back home in Cuba, because he would work out in the fields alongside the poor for countless hours each day (because of his diplomatic status, Guevara was often overseas, and could only spend weekends at home).  He not only preached a doctrine of Socialism, he lived it.

Jay-Z could learn a lot from that.  Maybe instead of purporting to understand the philosophies of Guevara, he should live them. 

And just like everything else hip-hop artists seem to promote (i.e. Gin from Snoop Dogg, and Courvoisier from Busta Rhymes), I’m sure the sale of t-shirts brandishing the image of Che Guevara went up.  At least from observation, it sure seems like it.  So now there are tens of thousands of mindless, empty-headed, Jay-Z following cronies out there “flossing” Che Guevara t-shirts.

This certainly infuriates me because I’m sure that most of the people just buy the t-shirt because it’s a fad, and some probably because they saw Jay-Z wearing one.  I’d bet some serious money that most people with these t-shirts don’t have a clue who Che Guevara was.  No one probably even paid attention to the irony of Jay-Z wearing Guevara's image on a t-shirt while rapping on T/V, wearing expensive jewelry, under a democratic government, in a country that Che Guevara certainly hated, all while rapping about the "Takeover" and "Girls, Girls, Girls." 

And unfortunately, the ignorance continues!

-Maelstrom