Che Guevara Mausoleum Facts for Kids

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Che Guevara Mausoleum
Conjunto Escultórico Memorial Comandante Ernesto Che Guevara
Che Guevara Monument and Mausoleum
Location	Santa Clara, Cuba
Type	National monument, memorial and museum
Owner	Cuban Government

The Che Guevara Mausoleum is a special memorial in Santa Clara, Cuba. It is located in a place called "Plaza Che Guevara" (Che Guevara Square). This important site holds the remains of a famous revolutionary named Ernesto "Che" Guevara. It also holds the remains of 29 of his friends and fellow fighters. They were killed in 1967 when Che Guevara tried to start an uprising in Bolivia. The whole area is called the Ernesto Guevara Sculptural Complex. It includes a large bronze statue of Guevara, which is 22 feet tall.

History of the Memorial
The Monument's Design
- What You See at the Memorial
- Symbolic Meanings in the Design
Visitors to the Site
More Burials at the Site
See also

History of the Memorial

Why Santa Clara Was Chosen

Santa Clara was picked for this memorial because of a very important event. On December 31, 1958, Che Guevara's troops took control of the city during the Battle of Santa Clara. This was the last big battle of the Cuban Revolution. After this battle, the Cuban leader at the time, Fulgencio Batista, had to leave the country.

Close by, in another part of Santa Clara, you can still see a military supply train. Che Guevara's forces derailed this train during the battle. It remains in the exact spot where it happened.

Che Guevara's Burial

Che Guevara was buried with full military honors on October 17, 1997. His remains were found in Bolivia, dug up, and brought back to Cuba. At the memorial site, there is a special eternal flame. This flame was lit by Fidel Castro to remember Che Guevara.

The site also has a museum. This museum tells the story of Che Guevara's life. It shows things from when he was a child, like his asthma inhaler and books he read in school.

Return of the Fighters' Remains

In October 1997, Che Guevara's remains arrived in Santa Clara. The remains of six other revolutionaries who died with him in Bolivia also came. They were carried in small wooden boxes on trailers pulled by green jeeps. A huge crowd of hundreds of thousands of people gathered. As the remains were unloaded, a group of schoolchildren sang a song for Che Guevara called "Hasta Siempre" (Until Forever).

Then, Fidel Castro gave a speech. He said that even though Che was killed, he would still be a fighter. Castro said Che's mark was in history and his vision became a symbol for poor people everywhere. After his speech, there was a special 21-gun salute. This happened in both Santa Clara and Havana. Air raid sirens also sounded across the entire island.

Besides Che Guevara, the remains of six other fighters were placed in the mausoleum on October 17, 1997. They had also died during the Bolivian Insurgency (1966-1967):

Carlos Coello (Tuma) – From Cuba, died in battle on June 26, 1967.
Alberto Fernandez Montes de Oca (Pacho) – From Cuba, died in battle on October 8, 1967.
Orlando Pantoja Tamayo (Olo) – From Cuba, died in battle on October 8, 1967.
René Martínez Tamayo (Arturo) – From Cuba, died in battle on October 8, 1967.
Juan Pablo Navarro-Lévano Chang (El Chino) – From Peru, captured and killed on October 9, 1967.
Simeon Cuba Sarabia (Willy) – From Bolivia, captured and killed on October 9, 1967.

The Monument's Design

Work on the memorial complex started in 1982. It was officially opened on December 28, 1988. Raúl Castro was there for the opening. Many people helped design the project, including architects Jorge Cao Campos, Blanca Hernández, and José Ramón Linares. Sculptors José de Lázaro Bencomo and José Delarra were also key creators.

About 500,000 people from Santa Clara volunteered over 400,000 hours to help build the complex. They worked with skilled artists from a foundry in Guanabacoa.

What You See at the Memorial

The complex shows many different parts of Che Guevara's life. For example, there are sculptures about his time in Guatemala and at the United Nations. His farewell letter to Fidel Castro is also carved there. A nearby wall shows him talking with Fidel in the Sierra Maestra mountains, next to Camilo Cienfuegos. Another part shows Che Guevara as the Minister of Industry, doing volunteer work. Finally, there are images of teachers, children in schools, and young pioneers. They are shown giving the daily salute that all Cuban children say each morning: "We will be like Che."

The memorial complex sits on a hill overlooking Santa Clara. It has a large tiled plaza. At the end of the plaza are two big signs with quotes from Fidel Castro. One says, "Che - it was a star that put you here and made you of this people." The other says, "We want everyone to be like Che." Carved in stone below the statue is a famous quote from Guevara: "One thing I learned in the Guatemala of Arbenz was that if I would be a revolutionary doctor, or just a revolutionary, first there must be a revolution."

Symbolic Meanings in the Design

Many parts of the memorial have a special meaning. For example, the monument faces 190 degrees. This points Che's statue directly towards South America. It shows his focus and hope for a united Latin America.

The 22-foot bronze statue of Che shows him carrying his gun, not aiming it. This symbolizes that he is "continuing onward." Che Guevara had a broken arm earlier in his life and wore a sling. This sling is etched into the statue. However, he is not wearing the sling in the statue. This symbolizes "a part of his personality, a man rebelling even against himself." At the bottom of the memorial is Che Guevara's famous saying: "Hasta la Victoria Siempre" (Until the Eternal Victory).

Visitors to the Site

From October 1997 to October 2009, more than 3 million people visited the memorial. These visitors came from over 100 different countries. In 2008 alone, over 247,700 Cubans and people from other countries visited the complex.

More Burials at the Site

Between 1997 and 2000, experts found the remains of 23 more fighters in Bolivia. These were other guerrillas who had died during the Bolivian Insurgency (1966-1967). All of these remains were brought to Cuba. They were also buried in the Che Guevara Mausoleum. The first of these burials happened on December 29, 1998. This was 40 years after Che Guevara's victory in the Battle of Santa Clara. Ten sets of remains were buried that day. More burials followed in 1999 and 2000, bringing the total number of fighters buried at the site to 30.

Che Guevara Mausoleum facts for kids

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