Che Exposed
by Humberto Fontova
Editor's note: This exposé on Che Guevara first appeared in the June
2009 issue of Townhall Magazine. To subscribe to Townhall Magazine and
get your free copy of "The Politically Incorrect Guide to the
Constitution,"
The U.K. Guardian interviewed Oscar-winning actor Benicio del Toro
earlier this year regarding his role as Che Guevara in Stephen
Soderbergh's new movie "Che." "Dammit This Guy Is Cool!" was the
interview title. "Del Toro was fascinated with Che Guevara from the
first time he heard his name mentioned in the Rolling Stones song
'Indian Girl,'" reads the introduction to the interview. "I hear of this
guy, and he's got a cool name, Che Guevara!" says del Toro. "Groovy
name, groovy man, groovy politics! So I came across a picture of Che,
smiling, in fatigues, I thought, 'Dammit, this guy is cool-looking!'"
Well, there you have it. In effect, Benicio del Toro, who fulfilled an
obvious fantasy by starring as Che Guevara in the four-and-a-half-hour
movie he also co-produced, revealed the inspiration (and daunting
intellectual exertion) of millions of Che fans-and not only recent ones.
"1968 actually began in 1967 with the murder of Che," recounts
Christopher Hitchens. "His death meant a lot to me, and countless like
me, at the time. Che was a role model."
Upon winning the Cannes Film Festival's "best actor" award (Sean Penn
headed the voting jury) for his "Che" role, del Toro dedicated the award
"to the man himself, Che Guevara!" "Through all the awards the movie
gets," gushed del Toro during the award ceremony, "you'll have to pay
your respects to the man!"
DIG THIS
As a celebrity-hipster fan of Che Guevara, del Toro has plenty of
company paying these respects. Johnny Depp conspicuously wears a Che
pendant from his neck and in a Vibe magazine interview proclaimed his
"digging" of Che Guevara.
The New York Times titled its review of Soderbergh's movie, "Saluting
the Rebel Underneath the T-Shirt." In fact, had del Toro, Depp or
Hitchens been born earlier and in Cuba and attempted a rebel lifestyle,
their "digging" of Castroite Cuba would have been of a more literal
nature. Del Toro, Depp and Hitchens would have found themselves chained
and digging ditches and mass graves in a prison camp system inspired by
the man they "dig." Had their digging in a Cuban forced-labor camp
lagged, a "groovy" Communist guard might have shattered their teeth with
