-
1950
Ernesto sets out on a 4,500 kilometer trip around the north of Argentina on a motorized bicycle. -
1951
In October 1951, Ernesto and his friend Alberto Granado decide on a plan to ride Alberto’s
motorbike (La Poderosa II — The Mighty One) to NorthAmerica. Granado is a biochemist who had
specialized in leprology and whose younger brothers had been Ernesto’s school friends. -
1952
They leave
Córdoba in December, heading first to farewell Ernesto’s family in Buenos Aires. The adventures
experienced on this trip, written up by Ernesto during and after the journey, comprise this book,published first as Notas de Viaje (Travel Notes or The Motorcycle Diaries). -
1953
1953:Ernesto graduates as a doctor and almost immediately embarks on another journey around Latin America which takes in Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica and Guatemala, where he meets Antonio (Ñico) López, a young Cuban revolutionary. In Bolivia, he is witness to the Bolivian Revolution. The account of these travels was first published as Otra Vez (in English, Latin America Diaries). -
1954
1954 Ernesto’s political views are profoundly radicalized when in Guatemala he sees the overthrow of the democratically elected government of Jacobo árbenz by U.S.-backed forces. He escapes to Mexico where he contacts the group of Cuban revolutionary exiles. In Mexico, he marries Peruvian Hilda Gadea, with whom he has a daughter, Hilditavels was first published as Otra Vez (in English, Latin America Diaries). -
1955
1955 After meeting Fidel Castro, he agrees to join the group being organized to wage guerrilla war against the Batista dictatorship. Now called “Che” by the Cubans — a common nickname for Argentines — in November 1956 he sails as the troop’s doctor on the yacht Granma. -
1956-58
1956–58 Che soon demonstrates outstanding military ability and is promoted to the rank of commander in July 1957. In December 1958, he leads the Rebel Army to a decisive victory over Batista’s forces at Santa Clara in central Cuba -
1959
1959 In February, Che is declared a Cuban citizen in recognition of his contribution to the island’s liberation. He marries Aleida March, with whom he has four children. In October, he is appointed head of the Industrial Department of the Institute of Agrarian Reform and in November becomes President of the National Bank of Cuba. With a gesture of disdain for money, he signs the new banknotes simply as “Che.” -
1960
1960 Representing the revolutionary government, Che undertakes an extensive trip to the Soviet Union, the German Democratic Republic, Czechoslovakia, China and North Korea, signing several key trade agreements. -
1961
1961 Che is appointed head of the newly established Ministry of Industry. In August, he heads Cuba’s delegation to the Organization of American States (OAS) at Punta del Este, Uruguay, where he denounces U.S. President Kennedy’s Alliance for Progress. -
1962
1962 A fusion of Cuban revolutionary organizations takes place and Che is elected to the National Directorate. Che visits the Soviet Union for the second time. -
1963
1963 Che travels to Algeria, which has just won independence from France under the government of Ahmed Ben Bella. -
1964
1964 Before heading off for an extensive trip around Africa, Che addresses the UN General Assembly in December. -
1965-66
1965 Che leads an international mission to the Congo to support the liberation movement founded by Patrice Lumumba. Responding to mounting speculation about Che’s whereabouts, Fidel Castro reads Che’s farewell letter to the Central Committee of the newly founded Cuban Communist Party. In December, Che returns to Cuba to prepare in secret for a new mission to Bolivia. 1966 In November, Che arrives in Bolivia in disguise. -
1967
1967 In April, Che’s “Message to the Tricontinental” is published, calling for the creation of “two, three, many Vietnams.” The same month, part of his guerrilla group becomes separated from the main detachment. On October 8, the remaining 17 guerrillas are ambushed and Che is wounded and captured. The following day he is murdered by Bolivian forces acting under instructions from Washington. His remains are buried in an unmarked grave along with the bodies of several other guerrilla fighters.