May 14, 1928 - Rosario, Santa Fe Province, Argentina - Ernesto Guevara de la Serna is born. His parents, Ernesto Guevara Lynch and Celia de la Serna, register his official date of birth as June 14, 1928
January(?) 1(?), 1931 - San Isidro, Argentina - Ernesto's parents discover that he has a severe asthmatic condition
January(?) 1(?), 1932 - Alta Gracia, Argentina - The Guevara family moves to Alta Gracia in the Province of Córdoba. The drier climate on the slopes of the Sierra Chica would be ideal to improve Ernesto's asthma
January(?) 1(?), 1934 - Alta Gracia - His mother begins schooling young Ernesto at home
January (?) 1(?), 1937 - Alta Gracia - Attends primary school in Alta Gracia at the Colegío San Martín (later attends the Santiago de Liniers School and the Victor Mercante School)
January(?) 1(?), 1939 - Alta Gracia - 11-year-old Ernesto joins the youth wing of "Acción Argentina", an anti-nazi organization
January(?) 1(?), 1942 - Córdoba, Argentina - Ernesto travels daily by bus to attend secondary school at the "Colegío Nacional Deán Funes" in Córdoba
July 1(?), 1943 - Córdoba - The Guevara family moves to Córdoba in the Summer
January(?) 1(?), 1945 - Córdoba - Ernesto takes a serious interest in Philosophy and compiles a 165-page notebook that he called his philosophical dictionary
January(?) 1(?), 1946 - Villa María, SE of Córdoba - Ernesto and his friend Tomás Granado obtain jobs working for the provicial public highways department after taking a special course for field analysts. Ernesto is hired as a materials analyst and sent to the north to inspect the materials being used on the roads around Villa María, where he was given free lodging and the use of a vehicle
November 1(?), 1946 - Córdoba - Ernesto graduates from secondary school
January 1(?), 1947 - Villa Maria, SE of Córdoba - Ernesto writes a prophetic poem, revealing his premonition that his destiny was to die fighting "riddled with bullets", rather than drowning (from his asthma)
April 22, 1947 - Córdoba - Ernesto receives his "Certificado de Bachiller" from the Colegío Nacional Deán Funes
May 1(?), 1947 - Buenos Aires, Argentina - The Guevara family moves to Buenos Aires. Ernesto gives up his job at Villa María to be at her dying grandmother's side
June 1(?), 1947 - Buenos Aires - The sadness over the loss of his grandmother and is interest in finding a cure for asthma leads him to begin medical school at the Buenos Aires University, less than one month after arriving to the argentine Capital
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| Che Guevara on bicycle January 1st, 1950 |
January 8(?), 1950 - San Francisco del Chañar, E. of Córdoba - Ernesto stops off in Córdoba to visit his friends Tomás and Alberto Granado. Alberto was conducting research on lepers at a leprosarium near San Francisco del Chañar. As Ernesto was intrigued by Alberto’s research he spends several days with Alberto at the leprosarium.
October 1, 1950 - Córdoba - Meets 16-year-old María del Carmen "Chichina" Ferreyra at a wedding in Córdoba
February 9, 1951 - Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentina - Needing money for his activities, Ernesto signs up for 6 months at sea as a nurse on oil tankers. Between February and June 1951, he makes various trips back and forth between Argentina and Brazil, Venezuela, and the Caribbean islands. These trips give him plenty of time to study for his medical exams and expose him to life at sea as well as most of the ports of call on the Atlantic Coast of South America and in the Caribbean
June 30(?), 1951 - Buenos Aires - Returns to Medical School
December 17, 1951 - San Francisco del Chañar, E. of Córdoba - Ernesto leaves Buenos Aires to see his friend Alberto Granado, who was working at the Leprosarium of San Francisco del Chañar, east of Córdoba =(START)
December 29, 1951 - San Francisco del Chañar - Ernesto and Alberto Granados set out to explore Latin America by motorcycle
January 4, 1952 - Buenos Aires - Visit to Ernesto's parents
January 6, 1952 - Vila Gisell - Visit to Ernesto's uncles in Villa Gisell
January 13, 1952 - Miramar, near Mar del Plata, Argentina - Visit to the beach resort city of Miramar to say goodbye to Chichina, who was vacationing there
January 14, 1952 - Necochea - Arrival at Necochea
January 16, 1952 - Bahia Blanca - Arrival at Bahia Blanca
January 22, 1952 - Bahia Blanca - Departs for Choele Choel
January 25, 1952 - Choele Choel - Arrival at Choele Choel
January 29, 1952 - Piedra del Águila - Arrival at Piedra del Águila
January 31, 1952 - San Martín de los Andes - Arrival at San Martín de los Andes
February 8, 1952 - Nahuel Huápi - Passing through Nahuel Huápi, at the lake with the same name
February 11, 1952 - San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina - Ernesto and Alberto reach Bariloche. A letter from Chichina was there waiting for him, informing him that she had decided not to wait for him
February 14, 1952 - Peulla, Chile - They cross to Chile
February 15, 1952 - Osorno, Chile - Arrival at Osorno
February 16, 1952 - Valdivia, Chile - They drop in on the local newspaper, which interviews them for an article about their journey. As a result, they decide in a gesture of great magnanimity to dedicate their trip to the city since it was celebrating the 400th anniversary of its founding.
February 18, 1952 - Temuco, Chile - In the picturesque central Chilean town of Temuco, they are interviewed again by the local newspaper, which is printed under the title: “Two Argentine Leprology Experts Tour South America by Motorbike”
February 21, 1952 - Lautaro, Chile - Arrival at Lautaro
February 27, 1952 - Los Angeles, Chile - Arrival at Los Angeles, Chile
March 1, 1952 - Santiago, Chile - Arrival in Santiago, the Chilean capital
March 7, 1952 - Valparaíso, Chile - They reach Valparaíso only to discover there were no ships leaving to go to Easter Island for another 6 months. They board the "San Antonio" to Antofagasta
March 10, 1952 - While in Valparaíso - Fulgencio Batista seizes power in Cuba by staging a coup d'état
March 11, 1952 - Antofagasta, Chile - The "San Antonio" reaches Antofagasta
March 12, 1952 - Baquedano | Chuquicamata, Northern Chile - Passage through Baquedano. Visit to Chile's largest copper mine at Chuquicamata (U.S.-owned)
March 20, 1952 - Iquique, Northern Chile - Arrival at Iquique, Northern Chile
March 22, 1952 - Arica, Northern Chile - Arrival at Arica, Northern Chile
March 24, 1952 - Tacna, Peru - They cross to Peru
March 26, 1952 - Puno, Peru - Arrival at Puno
March 27, 1952 - Lake Titicaca, Peru - Sailing on Lake Titicaca
March 28, 1952 - Juliaca, Peru - Arrival at Juliaca
March 30, 1952 - Sicuani, Peru - Arrival at Sicuani
March 31, 1952 - Cuzco, Peru - Arrival at Cuzco. They stay until April 3rd
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| In Machu Picchu, 1952 |
April 6, 1952 - Cuzco, Peru - Return to Cuzco
April 11, 1952 - Abancay, Peru - Arrival at Abancay
April 13, 1952 - Huancarama, Peru - Arrival at Huancarama
April 14, 1952 - Huambo, Peru - Arrival at Huambo
April 15, 1952 - Huancarama, Peru - Return to Huancarama
April 16, 1952 - Andahuaylas District - Ernesto and Alberto reach the Andahuaylas District, where they stay until April 19th
April 22, 1952 - Ayacucho, Peru - Arrival at Ayacucho
April 25, 1952 - La Merced, Peru - Arrival at La Merced
April 28, 1952 - San Ramón, Peru - Arrival at San Ramón
April 30, 1952 - Tarma, Peru - Arrival at Tarma
May 1, 1952 - Lima, Peru - Ernesto and Alberto arrive in Lima and decide to give up their original objective of traveling to the United States. They choose Venezuela as their ultimate destination after first visiting Dr. Pesce’s largest treatment center for lepers in Peru’s Amazonian region. When they were ready to leave, the patients of the leper hospital in Lima gave them an emotional send-off party. They were very touched by the affectionate farewell the patients gave them and by the small collection of money they presented them for their trip. Ernesto wrote in his diary that “some had tears in their eyes as they thanked us for coming, spending time with them, accepting their presents, sitting listening to football on the radio with them,” and he added that “if anything were to make us seriously specialize in leprosy, it would be the affection the patients show us wherever we go”. They stay in Lima until May 17th
May 19, 1952 - Cerro de Pasco, Peru - Arrival at Cerro de Pasco
May 24, 1952 - Pucallpa, Peru - Arrival at Pucallpa
May 25, 1952 - River Ucayali, Peru - They board the "La Cenepa" up the River Ucayali for Iquitos
June 1, 1952 - Iquitos, Peru - Arrival at Iquitos. Letter to his father, observing that “their appreciation stemmed from the fact that we didn’t wear overalls or gloves, that we shook hands with them as we would the next man, sat with them chatting about this and that, and played football with them.” He added: “This may seem pointless bravado, but the psychological benefit to these people—usually treated like animals—of being treated as normal human beings is incalculable and the risk incredibly remote”
June 6, 1952 - Aboard the "Cisne" for San Pablo leper colony
June 8, 1952 - San Pablo de Loreto, Peru - Arrival at the San Pablo leper colony, Peruvian Amazon (They stay until June 20th)
June 21, 1952 - Amazon River - On board the "Mambo-Tango", a wooden raft made by the
lepers they had treated, until the currents are too swift and the mosquitoes too many
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| Alberto and Ernesto on board the "Mambo Tango" raft, 1952 |
June 23, 1952 - Leticia, Colombia - Arrival in Leticia, Colombia. They stay until July 1st
July 2, 1952 - Bogotá, Colombia - Arrival in Bogotá. Staying until July 10th
July 6, 1952 - Bogotá - Ernesto attends the football game Millonarios Vs Real Madrid. Millonarios (the club where his idol and fellow argentine Alfredo di Stéfano played) wins 2-1.
Letter to his mother: "There is more repression of individual freedom here than in any country we've been to, the police patrol the streets carrying rifles and demand your papers every few minutes"
Letter to his mother: "There is more repression of individual freedom here than in any country we've been to, the police patrol the streets carrying rifles and demand your papers every few minutes"
July 12, 1952 - Cúcuta, Colombia - Arrival at Cúcuta
July 14, 1952 - San Cristóbal, Venezuela - Crosses to Venezuela
July 17, 1952 - Caracas, Venezuela - Arrival in Caracas. Staying until July 26th
August 14, 1952 - Miami, United States - Arrives in Miami. Before departing to Buenos Aires, the airplace had mechanical problems and had to be repaired. Ernesto seizes the opportunity to know the city
October 1, 1952 - Buenos Aires, Argentina - Returns to Buenos Aires after a month in Miami
June 12, 1953 - Buenos Aires - Ernesto graduates from medical school at the university of Buenos Aires
July 6, 1953 - Buenos Aires - Ernesto sets out with another childhood friend, Carlos "Calica" Ferrer for another Latin American Odyssey
July 25, 1953 - While in La Paz, Bolivia - Fidel Castro launches an armed assault on the Moncada Barracks in Santiago de Cuba. The attack fails and Castro and other survivors are captured and imprisoned
July(?) 30(?), 1953 - La Quiaca, Bolivia - Ernesto and Calica cross into southern Bolivia at La Quiaca
August(?) 1(?), 1953 - La Paz, Bolivia - Ernesto and Calica arrive in La Paz by rail
August(?) 5(?), 1953 - Lake Titicaca, Bolivia - Ernesto and Calica board a small boat captained by an aymara indian, to visit the "Isla del Sol" (Island of the Sun). By night, on the way back, a violent storm at 3,800 meters altitude almost sinks the boat. While the captain prayed for salvation, Ernesto and Calica began rowing until they reach the coast
August(?) 20(?), 1953 - Machu Picchu, Peru - Second visit to Machu Picchu
August 22, 1953 - Cuzco, Peru - Visit to Cuzco. Letter to his mother
September 1(?), 1953 - Lima, Peru - Arrives in Lima. Visit to Dr.Pesce and the people at the leprosarium
September 3, 1953 - Lima - Letter to his friend Tita Infante: "Bolivia is a country that has given a major example to the American continent,” and “the fighting still goes on, and almost every night people are wounded by gunfire on one side or the other. But the government is supported by the armed people, so there is no possibility of liquidating an armed movement from outside; it can succumb only as a result of internal dissensions”
October 4, 1953 - Guayaquil, Ecuador - Letter to his father
October 21, 1953 - Guayaquil - Letter to his Mother
October 31, 1953 - Guayaquil - Ernesto boards the "Guayo" to Panama
November 10(?), 1953 - Panama - Ernesto reaches Panama
December(?) 1(?), 1953 - Golfito, Costa Rica - They stop at Golfito, Costa Rica, which belonged to the American-owned United Fruit Company: “The town is divided into clearly defined zones, with guards who can prevent anyone from moving across, and of course the best zone is for the gringos”. He also noted that in the hospital “the degree of comfort depends on the grade of the person working in the company” and “as always, the class spirit of the gringos makes itself felt.”
December 10, 1953 - San José - Letter to his Aunt Beatriz
December 15(?), 1953 - San José, Costa Rica - First contact with a group of survivors of the Moncada Attack, in San José, Costa Rica
December 24, 1953 - Guatemala City - Christmas Eve in Guatemala
January 4, 1954 - Guatemala City - Ernesto meets Ñico López, a veteran of the Moncada attack
February 27(?), 1954 - Guatemala City - Ricardo Rojo and Gualo García decide to leave Guatemala. Ernesto stays because of his interest in Hilda and the revolutionary programs of the guatemalan regime
March 15(?), 1954 - Guatemala City - Ernesto and Hilda begin a romantic relationship
June 17, 1954 - Guatemala City - A mercenary force prepared by the CIA crosses into Guatemala with intent of marching on the capital and overthrow the democratically elected President Árbenz
June 20, 1954 - Guatemala City - Letter to his mother: "The incident served to unite all Guatemalans behind the government and all those who, like myself, came here attracted by the country.”
June 27, 1954 - Guatemala City - The Árbenz government in Guatemala is overthrown by CIA mercenary force. Ernesto flees to the Argentinian Embassy. Diary: "A terrible cold shower has fallen on all those who admire Guatemala. On the night of Sunday, 27 June, President Árbenz announced that he was resigning. He publicly denounced the fruit company and the United States as being directly behind all the bombing and strafing of the civilian population.”
August 1(?), 1954 - Guatemala City - Árbenz supporters are killed by the mercenaries in Guatemala City. Ernesto decides to flee to Mexico
September 21, 1954 - Mexico City, Mexico - Ernesto arrives in Mexico City. He works in the allergy section of the General Hospital and the "Hospital Infantil de Mexico"
October 30(?), 1954 - Mexico City - Ernesto and Hilda are reunited in Mexico
December 30(?), 1954 - Mexico City - Ernesto and Hilda become lovers again
May 15, 1955 - While in Mexico City - Fidel Castro and other "Moncadistas" are freed from prison in Cuba
July 7, 1955 - Mexico City - Fidel Castro arrives in Mexico. Ernesto meets him at the home of a cuban woman married to a mexican. They end up talking for 10 hours. He joins the Cuban revolutionary 26th of July Movement and becomes known as "Che"
August 18, 1955 - Tepotzotlán, Mexico - Marries Hilda Acosta in Tepotzotlán, Mexico
October 12, 1955 - Popocatépetl, W. of Puebla, Mexico - Climbs the Popocatépetl, the second highest mountain in Mexico
December 24, 1955 - Mexico City - Christmas Eve with Fidel and Raúl Castro
January 1(?), 1956 - Mexico City - Preparations begin for the expedition to Cuba
February 15, 1956 - Mexico City - First daughter Hilda Beatriz is born
April 1(?), 1956 - Mexico City - After military training, the group begins studying marxist literature and discussing the problems of Cuba and Latin America
June 24, 1956 - Mexico City - Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and other 25 members of the future expedition are arrested and held in Miguel Schultz jail under immigration laws
July 15, 1956 - Miguel Schultz Jail, Mexico City - Letter to his mother: "During these prison days and the period of training that preceded them, I have identifi ed totally with my comrades in the cause. I remember a phrase that once seemed to me idiotic or at least bizarre, referring to such a total identifi cation among the members of a fighting body that the very concept of the “I” disappeared and gave way to the concept of “we.” It was a Communist morality and may, of course, appear to be a doctrinaire exaggeration, but in reality it was (and is) a beautiful thing to be able to feel that stirring of “we.”
August 25, 1956 - Mexico City - Che Guevara is released after 57 days in prison
November 25, 1956 - Tuxpán, Mexico - Sets out for Cuba with another 81 members of the 26th of July Movement, on board the old cabin cruiser "Granma"
December 2, 1956 - Las Coloradas Beach, Near Cape Cruz, SW of Cuba - Ernesto, now known as “Che,” arrives in Cuba with Castro brothers to launch revolutionary armed struggle from the Sierra Maestra mountains against the Batista dictatorship. They beach the boat on a muddy mangrove swamp, and they are unable to unload most of their heavy weapons
December 5, 1956 - Alegría de Pío, near Cape Cruz, SW of Cuba - The expeditionary force is surprised by a large contingent of Batista's army. Of the 82 men, only 15 escape, including Fidel and Raúl Castro and Che Guevara, who is wounded in the neck
December 21, 1956 - Road to Pilón, SW of Cuba - Che Guevara is reunited with Fidel Castro's group
January 17, 1957 - La Plata, SW of Cuba - The Rebel force takes an army position at La Plata, then moves to Palma Mocha
January 22, 1957 - Arroyo del Infierno River, tributary of Palma Mocha River - Six army soldiers are killed in a firefight at Arroyo del Infierno river
January 28, 1957 - Caracas, SW of Cuba - Letter to Hilda: "As you probably know, after seven days of being packed like sardines in the now famous 'Granma', we landed at a dense, rotting mangrove jungle through the pilot’s error. Our misfortunes continued until finally we were surprised in the also now famous Alegría [de Pío] and scattered like pigeons.”
January 30, 1957 - Caracas, SW of Cuba - Eutimio Guerra, a traitor, asks Fidel for leave to visit his sick mother. Hours later he is captured by an army patrol and returns to the camp as an agent of Batista's Army, who now has detailed information about the rebels
January 31, 1957 - Caracas - The rebels suffer an air attack. Unknown to them, on board an observation plane, Eutimio Guerra pinpoints where the rebel camp is, for the pilots. The rebel troop is scattered
February 2, 1957 - Derecha de la Caridad, near El Lomón, SW Cuba - The rebels, now hardened and numbering 25 begins asking themselves how the army seems to know their whereabouts everytime. After 3 days all guerrillas rejoin Fidel Castro after the air attack. It is confirmed that Eutimio Guerra is a traitor and that during his capture he was offered money to kill Castro
February 15(?), 1957 - Derecha de la Caridad - Eutimio Guerra is caught with a safe-conduct from Batista. He knows what expects him. Before hearing the trial of the ex-comrades who had done everything for him, he asks only that they take care of his family, (which they would do, giving them new names) and is executed
March 13, 1957 - Derecha de la Caridad - The radio announces that there was a failed attempt to assassinate President Fulgencio Batista
March 16, 1957 - Derecha de la Caridad - Fifty new recruits join the rebel army, which now number 80 guerrillas
March 24, 1957 - Derecha de la Caridad - The Rebel army is divided in smaller units. Che Guevara is appointed medic of the General Staff
April 15(?), 1957 - Arroyo del Infierno River, tributary of Palma Mocha River - After training the new recruits at Palma Mocha, the Rebel army returns to the familiar area of Arroyo del Infierno
April 23, 1957 - Arroyo del Infierno River - Celia Sánchez joins the rebels. With her comes an american journalist named Matthews
May 28, 1957 - El Uvero, Cuba - Battle of El Uvero - The guerrillas take an army unit by surprise, killing 14 soldiers and wounding 19, before the remaining soldiers surrender. Diary: “for us, it was a victory that meant our guerrillas had reached full maturity. From this moment on, our morale increased enormously, our determination and hope for victory also increased, and though the months that followed were a hard test, we now had the key to the secret of how to beat the enemy”
June 16, 1957 - Palma de Mocha | Arroyo del Infierno River - The guerrillas return to familiar territory after spending almost a month treating the wounded
July 21, 1957 - Palma de Mocha | Arroyo del Infierno River - Fidel Castro promotes Che Guevara to the top rank of "comandante" of the new second column of the Revolutionary Force, with about 75 men. Celia Sánchez gives him a small star to wear in front of his black beret, which soon became an iconic feature in his image
July 30, 1957 - While near Bueycito, SW Cuba - Frank País is killed by Batista's police as he leaves the house he was hiding in Santiago de Cuba
July 31, 1957 - Bueycito, SW Cuba - Unaware that Frank País had been killed, Guevara's column attacks the small military post of Bueycito. Six soldiers are wounded
August 29, 1957 - El Hombrito, near the summit of Sierra Maestra, Cuba - A local peasant informs the rebels that a large number of soldiers were heading their way on the trail that led to the valley where they were camped. Guevara has his men take up positions along the trail so they could ambush the soldiers when they reach a curve where the trail made an almost 90-degree turn around a rock. His plan was to let 10 or 12 soldiers go by the rock and then open fire on them. His men were supposed to then take the dead soldiers’ weapons and withdraw while they were being covered by their rear guard. However, when the soldiers come to the rock, one of his men opens fire too soon and they succeeded in wounding only one of the soldiers at the head of the army column. Nevertheless, in the exchange of gunfire that followed they managed to force the soldiers, who were equipped with bazookas, to retreat
September 10, 1957 - Pino del Agua, Sierra Maestra, Cuba - Guevara's column reaches Pino del Agua. They capture three army trucks carrying weapons
October 30(?), 1957 - El hombrito - Returns to El Hombrito
November 4, 1957 - While at El Hombrito - The first issue of "El Cubano Libre (The Free Cuban)", the newspaper of the Rebel Army, is published by Che Guevara in the Sierra Maestra
February 1(?), 1958 - Pino del Agua - Creation of the clandestine radio station "Radio Rebelde" (Rebel Radio)
February 16, 1958 - Pino del Agua - Fidel Castro and Che Guevara attack the governmental forces at Pino de Agua for the second time
March 1(?), 1958 - While at Pino del Agua(?) - To quell the rebellion, Cuban government troops begin executing rebel prisoners on the spot, and regularly rounding up, torturing, and shooting civilians as a tactic of intimidation. The continued atrocities carried out by Batista's forces make the United States stop selling arms to the Cuban government
April 1(?), 1958 - While at Pino del Agua(?) - Fidel Castro and Che Guevara take charge of creating a training school for the new recruits that were joining the Rebel Army in increasing numbers
June 28, 1958 - Sierra Maestra, SW Cuba - The government launches "Operation Verano", its last major attack on the Rebel Army, with 20,000 men surrounding the Sierra Maestra. Che Guevara's unit ambushes the lead battalion and causes 86 casualties to the army, capturing a large number of weapons and rounds of ammunition
July 11, 1958 - Battle of La Plata/of Jigüe - Fidel Castro defeats the army at Las Mercedes, causing 71 killed or wounded and up to 500 soldiers captured
July 15(?), 1958 - Sierra Maestra, SW Cuba - The increasingly demoralized and battered troops of Fulgencio Batista loose the initiative to the rebels
July 20, 1958 - While in Sierra Maestra - The leaders of the Cuban political parties opposing the Batista regime, both moderates and conservatives, sign the Caracas Pact, in which they throw their support behind the Rebel Army
July 29, 1958 - Las Mercedes, Central North Sierra Maestra - Battle of Las Mercedes - Cuban general Eulogio Cantillo lures the guerrillas to a trap. They loose 70 men in the firefight
August 2, 1958 - Las Mercedes - Batista sends a personal representative to negotiate with Castro. Negotiations fail
August 8, 1958 - Las Mercedes - When 1,500 soldiers resume attack, they find that Castro's troops had slipped away unnoticed
August 31, 1958 - Southern Cuba - Che Guevara sets out with his column for Las Villas Province in Central Cuba
October 16, 1958 - Júcaro River, between Camaguey and Sancti Spiritus, Cuba - Guevara's column swims across Júcaro River, which divides the provinces of Camaguey and Las Villas
November 1(?), 1958 - Escambray Mountains, S. of Santa Clara - Guevara's column arrives in the Escambray Mountains. He convinces the leaders of five guerrilla movements of the region to join him: "After laborious talks I had with their respective leaders, we reached a series of agreements and it was possible to go on to form a more or less common front”
November 15(?), 1958 - While at the Escambray Mountains - Batista tries to stage a rigged national election, buy the majority of the citizenry and all political parties that had signed the Caracas pact boycott it
November 30(?), 1958 - Escambray Mountains - An operative of the 26th of July movement in Las Villas Province arrives with 50,000 pesos attached to her body and orders to stay with Che Guevara - Aleida March
December 27, 1958 - outskirts of Santa Clara - The advance unit of Che Guevara's 214-men force arrives at the outskirts of Santa Clara, capital of Las Villas province
December 28, 1958 - Santa Clara, Cuba - Che Guevara orders the capture of strategic points of the city. The Battle of Santa Clara begins
December 31, 1958 - While in Santa Clara - Radio Rebelde broadcast the first reports that Guevara's column had taken Santa Clara
January 1, 1959 - Santa Clara - Guevara's troops take the city of Santa Clara. Only about 1,000 soldiers remained inside the Leoncio Vidal Army Garrison. At 3 am, upon learning that his generals were negotiating a separate peace with Guevara, Fulgencio Batista boards a plane in Havana and flees for the Dominican Republic, along with an amassed "fortune of more than $300,000,000 through graft and payoffs"
January 2, 1959 - Santa Clara - Fidel Castro orders Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos to march their columns imediately to Havana. On the way, Che tells Aleida of his love for her
January 3, 1959 - Havana, Cuba - Che Guevara enters Havana to take control of the capital and is appointed commander of the La Cabaña fortress for a 5-month tenure
January 5, 1959 - Havana - Five latin american countries recognize Fidel Castro's provisional government
January 7, 1959 - Havana - The US ambassador, Earl Smith, is recalled for having supported Batista. The US recognizes the new cuban government
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| Che and Fidel, Havana |
January 15(?), 1959 - Tarará, Cuba - Che Guevara goes to live at a summer villa in Tarará to recover from a violent asthma attack. While resting there, he begins writing his book "Guerrilla Warfare"
January 18, 1959 - Havana - Che Guevara's parents arrive from Argentina. He meets them at the airport with Aleida
January 21, 1959 - Havana - Hilda Gadea and 3-year-old Hildita arrive in Havana. She agrees to a divorce so that Guevara could marry Aleida
February 1(?), 1959 - Havana - The revolutionary government proclaims Guevara "a Cuban citizen by birth" in recognition of his role in the triumph
February 5, 1959 - Havana - Letter to Luis Paredes López in Buenos Aires: "The executions by firing squads are not only a necessity for the people of Cuba, but also an imposition of the people."
May 17, 1959 - Havana - The Agrarian Reform Law, crafted by Guevara, goes into effect, limiting the size of all farms to 1,000 acres (400 ha) and creating a form of collective rather than individual private ownership
May 22, 1959 - Havana - The divorce between Che Guevara and Hilda Gadea is finalized
June 2, 1959 - La Canaña Fortress, Havana, Cuba - Che Guevara marries Aleida March
June 3(?), 1959 - Tarará, Cuba - Returns to Tarará on honeymoon with Aleida
June 12, 1959 - Havana - Fidel Castro sends Che Guevara out on a 3-month tour of 14 mostly Bandung Pact countries and the cities of Singapore and Hong Kong
June 13, 1959 - Madrid, Spain - Che Guevara arrives in Madrid
June 15, 1959 - Cairo, Egypt - Arrives in Cairo. Meeting with President Gamal Abdel Nasser
June 18, 1959 - Gaza (under Egyptian rule) - Landing for a visit to Gaza, after travelling about 450km from Cairo
June 22, 1959 - Cairo - Meeting with Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser. Che Guevara is awarded with the Order of Al Goumbania
June 30, 1959 - New Delhi, India - Arrives in India
July 1, 1959 - New Delhi - Meeting with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru
July 5, 1959 - Lucknow, India - Visit to Lucknow's Institute of Sugar Investigation
July 10, 1959 - Calcutta, India - Visit to Calcutta
July 11, 1959 - Dhaka, East Pakistan - Visit to East Pakistan (Bangladesh)
July 12, 1959 - Rangoon, Burma - Three-day to Burma to negotiate exchange of rice for sugar
July 15, 1959 - Osaka, Japan - Arrives in Japan
July 23(?), 1959 - Nagoya, Japan - Visit to Car factories in Nagoya
July 24, 1959 - Hiroshima, Japan - Che Guevara visits Hiroshima and its Peace Memorial Museum
July 27, 1959 - Osaka, Japan - Leaves Japan after 12 days
July 29, 1959 - Jakarta, Indonesia - Visit to Indonesia
August 1, 1959 - Bali, Indonesia - Visit to the Island of Bali
August 4(?), 1959 - Singapore - Passage in Singapore before continuing to Ceylon
August 6, 1959 - Ceylon - Visit to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka)
August 8, 1959 - Karachi, Pakistan - Arrives in Karachi for a 3-day visit. Meeting with General Mahomed Ayub Khan
August 12, 1959 - Belgrade, Yugoslavia - Visit to Yugoslavia
August 24, 1959 - Brijuni Islands, Croatia, Yugoslavia - Meeting with the Yugoslav Leader Josip "Tito" Broz
August 28, 1959 - Seville, Spain - One hour at Seville during a stop on the way to Morocco
August 29, 1959 - Rabat | Casablanca | Marrakech, Morocco - Che Guevara visits to Rabat, Casablanca and Marrakech in Morocco
September 2, 1959 - Madrid, Spain - Returns to Madrid because of technical problems in the aircraft. The cuban delegation is forced to stay for almost a week. They visit Toledo and Seville during that time
September 8, 1959 - Havana, Cuba - Returns to Cuba
October 7, 1959 - Havana - Fidel Castro appoints Guevara head of Industrial Department of the National Institute of Agrarian Reform
November 26, 1959 - Havana - Fidel Castro appoints Guevara to the post of President of the Central Bank of Cuba
December 28, 1959 - Santa Clara, Cuba - Visit to the Central University of Las Villas, in Santa Clara
January(?) 1(?), 1960 - Havana(?) - Che publishes his first book "La Guerra de Guerrillas" (Guerrilla Warfare )
March 1(?), 1960 - Havana - Meeting with french existencialist philosophers Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir
March 2, 1960 - Havana - Talk at the University of Havana
March 4, 1960 - Havana - The French freighter "La Coubre", carrying belgian weapons, suspiciously explodes in Havana Harbor, killing at least 76 people and injuring several hundred more. Upon hearing the blast, Guevara rushes to the harbor to board the burning ship, angrily forcing his way past those concerned for his safety following a secondary explosion
March 5, 1960 - Havana - La Coubre memorial service. Photographer Alberto Korba takes his iconic picture of Che Guevara
March 20, 1960 - Havana - Inaugural lecture of the TV program "The People's University"
May 15, 1960 - Off the coast of Havana, Cuba - Fidel Castro and Che Guevara participate in the "Hemingway Fishing Contest". Fidel Castro wins
June 29, 1960 - Havana - The Cuban Government nationalizes US oil refineries when they refuse to refine soviet oil
July 9, 1960 - While in Havana - The Soviet Union agrees to purchase all cuban sugar that the US refuses to pay
July 10, 1960 - Havana - Che Guevara addresses over 100,000 workers in front of the Presidential Palace at a rally to denounce the "economic aggression" of the United States
August 6, 1960 - Havana - The major US companies in Cuba are nationalized
August 10, 1960 - While in Havana - In the US, the CIA makes contacts with the Italian Mafia, promising the "monopoly on gaming, prostitution and drugs" if they assassinate Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and Raúl Castro, to restore a US-puppet regime in Cuba
October 19, 1960 - Havana - The United States impose partial trade embargo on Cuba
October 21, 1960 - Havana - Che Guevara departs for a 2-month trip to the Soviet Union, China, North Korea, East Germany and Czechoslovakia
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| Che Guevara and Mao Zedong |
October 30, 1960 - Moscow, Soviet Union - Visit to Soviet Union
November 19, 1960 - Beijing, China - Meeting with Mao Zedong in Beijing
November 24, 1960 - While in Beijing - Daughter Aleida Guevara March is born in Havana
December 3, 1960 - Pyongyang, North Korea - Che Guevara visits North Korea while the rest of the Cuban delegation goes to Vietnam. He is received by the north korean leader Kim Il Sung
December 17, 1960 - East Berlin, East Germany - Che Guevara signs a trade agreement with East Germany. He meets Tamara Bunke there
January 3, 1961 - Havana, Cuba - The United States breaks diplomatic relations with Cuba
January 6, 1961 - Havana - Che Guevara appears on TV to report on the signing of the agreements with the socialist countries
January 20, 1961 - Nicaro, Cuba - Visit to the nickel plant at Nicaro. Che Guevara also talks to the workers
February 11, 1961 - Havana - Appointed Minister of Industries of Cuba
February 23, 1961 - Havana - End of his term as President of the Central bank of Cuba
March 3, 1961 - Havana - Lunch with the Ambassador of the USSR, S. Kudryatsev. Fidel and Raúl Castro are absolutely sure that the Kennedy administration was preparing some kind of provocation against Cuba
March 8, 1961 - Havana - Che Guevara welcomes the chinese delegation on their arrival in Havana
April 17, 1961 - While in Havana - 1,400 U.S.-trained Cuban exiles invade Cuba during the Bay of Pigs Invasion
May 26, 1961 - Moa, Cuba - Che Guevara, Raúl Castro and Aleida March visit the Pedro Sotto Alba plant and the Cayo Guan mine
August 4, 1961 - Havana, Cuba - Before departing for the Economic conference of the Organization of American States in Punta del Este, Uruguay, Che Guevara signs a "secret deal" with the USSR for "the delivery of special materials to Cuba" (Nuclear missiles)
August 8, 1961 - Punta del Este, Uruguay - During an economic conference of the Organization of American States in Punta del Este, Uruguay, Che Guevara sends a note of "gratitude" to United States President John F. Kennedy through Richard N. Goodwin, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs. It read "Thanks for Playa Girón (Bay of Pigs). Before the invasion, the revolution was shaky. Now it's stronger than ever."
August 17, 1961 - Montevideo, Uruguay - Speech at the Montevideo University
August 18, 1961 - Olivos, N. of Buenos Aires, Argentina - Secret visit to Argentine President Arturo Frondizi (the army had orders to kill Che Guevara if he returned to Argentina)
August 19, 1961 - Brasília, Brazil - Che Guevara receives the distinguished National Order of the Southern Cross from Jânio Quadros, President of Brazil
August 20, 1961 - Havana, Cuba - Returns to Cuba after a 16-hour stay in Brazil
January 21, 1962 - Havana - Che Guevara helps workers on a low cost housing project near Havana
January 24, 1962 - While in Havana - The US Treasury Department announces that it was prohibiting entry into the United States of any product made, wholly or in part, with Cuban products, even if they were manufactured in another country
February 3, 1962 - Havana - President Kennedy imposes total trade embargo of Cuba
May 20, 1962 - Havana - First son Camilo Guevara March is born
August 5, 1962 - Havana - Che Guevara welcomes soviet technical personnel at the Havana port
August 27, 1962 - Moscow, Soviet Union - Che Guevara heads an important Cuban mission to the Soviet Union that finalizes secret negotiations that lead to the placement of Soviet missiles in Cuba; this provokes the infamous Cuban Missile Crisis and US naval blockade of Cuba
October 2, 1962 - Moscow - Photographed in Moscow
October 22, 1962 - While in Havana, Cuba(?) - Kennedy denounces Cuba's acquisition of nuclear missiles and imposes a naval blockade of the Island
October 28, 1962 - While in Havana(?) - Khrushchev brings the "Cuban Missile Crisis" to an end by agreeing to remove its missiles from Cuba in exchange for the United States removing its missiles from Turkey and pledging not to invade Cuba
November 5, 1962 - Havana - Che Guevara welcomes Anastas Mikoyan(*) on his arrival in Havana. (*) First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union
January 1(?), 1963 - Moa, Cuba - Tour in Moa region
February 6, 1963 - While in Havana - The White House issues a press release announcing that merchandise bought with U.S. government money would not be loaded on to ships with foreign flags that had engaged in trade with Cuba after January 1st of that year
June 14, 1963 - Havana - Third daughter Celia Guevara March is born
July 3, 1963 - Algiers, Algeria - Che Guevara arrives at Algiers and is received by Prime-minister Ahmed Ben Bella
July 8, 1963 - While in Algeria - The US Treasury Department freezes all Cuban assets in US territory and prohibits all transfers of money to and from Cuba, as well as any other transaction in dollars via third countries
July 13, 1963 - Algiers, Algeria - Speech at a planning seminar in Algeria
March 29, 1964 - Geneva, Switzerland - Speech at the World Commerce and Development Conference at the Palace des Nations at Geneva
April 30(?), 1964 - Madrid, Spain - Secret visit to former Argentine President Juan Perón who lived in exile in Francoist Spain
September 1(?), 1964 - Moa, Cuba - Returns to Moa to verify the operations of the comandante Pedro Sotto Alba plant and to talk with the chromite miners
November 4, 1964 - Moscow, Soviet Union - Visit to the Soviet Union
November 11, 1964 - Moscow - Che Guevara meets Yuri Gagarin
December 9, 1964 - Havana, Cuba - Che Guevara departs for a 3-month trip, including the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Algeria, Mali, Congo, Guinea, Tanzania and Egypt
December 12, 1964 - New York City - Che Guevara addresses the UN in a hour-long speech entitled "Colonialism is doomed"
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| Che Guevara on "Face the Nation" |
December 17, 1964 - Paris, France - Departs from New York to Paris, via Gander, Newfoundland
January 5(?), 1965 - Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo - Meets with Agostinho Neto and MPLA guerrillas at their headquarters in Brazzaville
January 14, 1965 - Accra, Ghana - Visit to Ghana. Meeting with First President of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah
February 1, 1965 - Karachi, Pakistan - Technical stop on his way to Beijing
February 2, 1965 - Beijing, China - Second visit to Beijing to see what help China could provide to the rebellions in the Congo. Deng Xiaoping welcomes him at the airport
February 11, 1965 - Dar es Salaam, Tanzania - Che Guevara lands in Dar es Salaam from China, to rally support from the liberation movements to create a united army to fight against imperialism and neocolonial forces in the Congo
February 13, 1965 - Zanzibar - Flies to Zanzibar to attend the celebrations of the anniversary of the Zanzibar Revolution
February 14, 1965 - Dar es Salaam - Meeting with Eduardo Mondlane, chairman of FRELIMO - Mozambique Liberation Front
February 18, 1965 - Dar es Salaam - Press conference. Then he departs to Egypt and Algeria
February 24, 1965 - Algiers, Algeria - Che Guevara makes his last public appearance when he delivers a speech at an economic seminar on Afro-Asian solidarity. At Havana, his second son, Ernesto Guevara March, is born
March 11, 1965 - Prague, Czechoslovakia - Departs to Havana, Cuba
March 12, 1965 - Shannon, W. Ireland - His flight from Prague to Havana is diverted to Shannon Airport in western Ireland (suspected mechanical problems)
March 13, 1965 - Limerick, Ireland - Che Guevara celebrates his irish heritage during preparations for Saint Patrick's Day in Limerick
March 14, 1965 - Havana, Cuba - Returns to Havana to a solemn reception by Fidel and Raúl Castro. He spends the night of 14th to 15th planning Cuba's first military action in Africa, that would be led by Guevara himself
April 1, 1965 - Havana - Che sets out to Congo with a first group of 13 cuban expeditionaires to assist rebel insurgents there. He delivers a farewell letter to Fidel Castro
April 19, 1965 - Dar es Salaam, Tanzania - Che Guevara and his men arrive in Dar es Salaam
April 22, 1965 - Kigoma, NW Tanzania - Che Guevara, his second-in-command Víctor Dreke and 12 other cuban expeditionaries travel by road to the lakeside town of Kigoma, to establish a supply base
April 23, 1965 - Eastern Congo, close to Burundi - They cross Lake Tanganyika to Congo in boats
October 3, 1965 - While in Congo - Fidel Castro publicly reads Che Guevara's farewell letter
November 20, 1965 - Congo - Suffering from dysentery and acute asthma, and disheartened after seven months of defeats and inactivity, Guevara leaves Congo with the six Cuban survivors of his 12-man column. Guevara states that he had planned to send the wounded back to Cuba and fight in Congo alone until his death, as a revolutionary example. But after being urged by his comrades, and two Cuban emissaries personally sent by Castro, at the last moment he reluctantly agrees to leave Africa
November 21, 1965 - Kigoma, NW Tanzania - Che Guevara leaves the Congo
November 30(?), 1965 - Dar es Salaam - Returns to Dar es Salaam. He spends the next 4 months living clandestinely at the Cuban Embassy
January 15(?), 1966 - Dar es Salaam - Aleida arrives to visit Che Guevara
February 1(?), 1966 - Dar es Salaam - Che Guevara is joined by Luis García Gutiérrez, a dentist from Havana, carrying a plane ticket for Prague and the tools of his trade. He makes Che Guevara unrecognizable - a dental prosthesis, a hump, a crown of white hair on a false baldness and square eyeglasses. Che Guevara is transformed into Ramón Benítez, an uruguayan businessman
March 1(?), 1966 - Prague, Czechoslovakia - Living in a Cuban safehouse in Prague
July 21, 1966 - Havana, Cuba - Secretly travels back to Cuba to visit Castro, to see his wife and to write a last letter to his five children to be read upon his death
July 25(?), 1966 - Pinar del Rio, Cuba - Che returns secretly to Cuba and prepares for a clandestine mission in Bolivia
October 26(?), 1966 - Madrid, Spain - Secret visit to former Argentine President Juan Perón
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| Adolfo Mena González (Che Guevara in disguise) |
November 6, 1966 - La Paz - Che Guevara leaves La Paz for the rural south east region of Bolivia to form his guerrilla army
November 7, 1966 - Ñancahuazú, Bolivia - First entry of his diary in Bolivia, after his arrival at the farm in Ñancahuazú
December 31, 1966 - Ñancahuazú, Bolivia - The Secretary General of the Bolivian Communist Party, Mario Monje, arrives in Che Guevara's camp, however, Monje refuses to support the guerrilla and send men unless he was in charge of it
March 11, 1967 - Ñancahuazú - Two recruits leave the camp to go hunting. They disappear and later are captured by the Bolivian Army. They give the army detailed information about the location and numbers of the guerrilla force
March 23, 1967 - Ñancahuazú - Che Guevara's 39-men force is discovered by the Bolivian Army. The guerrilla camp is taken and Che Guevara has to withraw to an area about which he knew very little and where he had difficulty in finding food and places to hide
June 19, 1967 - Morocos, Bolivia - Che's column takes the town of Morocos, however, the people is unfriendly to them
June 24, 1967 - While in Rio Grande Area, Bolívia - Massacre of San Juan - Governmental forces ambush an encampment of miners to crush any attempt to organise a resistance among miners, killing 20 and wounding 72
August 31, 1967 - While in Rio Grande Area - A small group of Guevara's soldiers, totaling eight men as well as Tamara Bunke, are ambushed and killed by Bolivian soldiers while they were attempting to cross the Rio Grande in Bolivia
September 24, 1967 - Loma Larga (mountain peak), NW of La Higuera - Che Guevara and his men reach the mountain peak of Loma Larga
September 27, 1967 - La Higuera, Vallegrande, Bolivia - The New 2nd Manchego Ranger Regiment, trained by US special forces, arrives at La Higuera
September 30(?), 1967 - N. of La Higuera - Diary: "Our conditions are the same as last month, except now the army is demonstrating increasing effectiveness in its actions and the campesinos are giving us no support and have turned into informers"
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| His appearance in death drew comparisons with Jesus Christ |
October 8, 1967 - Yuro ravine | La Higuera - On the morning, the Bolivian forces encircle the area with two companies numbering 180 soldiers and advance into the ravine triggering a battle where Guevara is wounded and taken prisoner while leading a detachment with Simeón Cuba Sarabia. Guevara is tied up and taken to a dilapidated mud schoolhouse in the nearby village of La Higuera on the evening
October 9, 1967 - La Higuera, Vallegrande, Bolivia - In the morning, by order of Bolivian
President René Barrientos, Ernesto "Che" Guevara is executed, aged 39 =(END)
President René Barrientos, Ernesto "Che" Guevara is executed, aged 39 =(END)
