Touring South America with The Motorcycle Diaries

Over some yummy brown sugar coffee cake and lemonade we took an interesting ride through the life and times of Che Guevara. Members seemed to fall into two camps on the book, 1)boring 2) poetic travelogue. However, everyone seemed to enjoy the movie (at least those who could keep up with the subtitles). We spent quite a lot of time analyzing Che and his transformation from idealistic young medical student to hardened revolutionary. One member noted that those whose standards of caring are high tend to become radicalized as they grow older. In the same vein, we discussed Ernesto's blunt honesty, and how few people really care to hear the truth, or are capable of delivering it. We were like fussy mothers about the idea of his setting out on a journey that deteriorated into such deprived physical comforts with a chronic medical condition. Perhaps as Ernesto told the young leper, the medical field interested him because of his condition and possibly having to fight off death with every attack gave him the fearlessness that was later displayed in the revolution. Some members noted that you were born with gene for wanderlust and adventure and are perfectly satisfied staying in one place otherwise. We admired the cineomotograpy in the film with its luscious glimpse of South American landscapes. Since it's difficult to ignore politics and social conscience when examining Che's life, we talked about how his encounters with the poor and deprived changed him. We thought the movie was effective in portraying this through the still photographs of people's faces. We discussed how communism as a pure concept includes qualities any religion finds desirable--everyone taken care of, all equal--but how, in practice, that really doesn't happen. A comment from Alberto when interviewed for the film was that Che would be disappointed to see the lack of progress in Cuba. We liked the way the pair charmed themselves into free meals and places to stay and were impressed with the quality of Ernesto's journal entries and his writing style. We recognized the quality of the music from the movie and how this appears to be a universal thread between various people and countries. Although this may have not been a book that most members would have selected on their own for something to read, as a springboard to conversation it provided some interesting comments and insights. Try this link http://www.time.com/time/time100/heroes/profile/guevara01.html to see Time magazine's take on Che whom they have included in their 100 most important people of the century. Interestingly, he's not in the "Leaders and Revolutionaries" category, but in the "Heroes and Icons"