0:00:00 > 0:00:00from our award-winning documentary series Our World.
0:00:00 > 0:00:03In this film Will Grant travelled around Cuba to investigate
0:00:03 > 0:00:05the legacy of the revolutionary icon, Che Guevara -
0:00:05 > 0:00:0950 years after his death.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12His is probably the most recognisable face in Latin America.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14Perhaps one of the most iconic images in the world.
0:00:14 > 0:00:16Synonymous with youthful rebellion, with socialism, with revolution.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20But today, 50 years after the death of Che Guevara, what does he mean
0:00:20 > 0:00:27in a fast-changing Cuba?
0:00:27 > 0:00:30As the communist-run island evolves, some see his example as more
0:00:30 > 0:00:31relevant than ever.
0:00:31 > 0:00:33Others see a different future ahead, one that breaks
0:00:34 > 0:00:36with the indoctrination and intolerance of the past.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39I have spent the past few years living on this fascinating island
0:00:39 > 0:00:42at a period of great upheaval and want to know
0:00:42 > 0:00:43what El Che means today.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46It's the start of another school day in Cuba's capital,
0:00:46 > 0:00:57Havana.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12It's the start of another school day in Cuba's capital,
0:01:12 > 0:01:20Havana.
0:01:20 > 0:01:23And the seconds are ticking down to assembly at Nicolas Estevanez
0:01:23 > 0:01:25primary school in the city's Vedado district.
0:01:25 > 0:01:27It's one of countless schools across the island
0:01:27 > 0:01:30in which the memories and achievements of the country's
0:01:30 > 0:01:33independence heroes are marked every day by children in their distinctive
0:01:33 > 0:01:54uniforms of the socialist pioneers.
0:01:54 > 0:01:56But there's one revolutionary who has a special place reserved
0:01:56 > 0:01:59in the education of these Cuban children, whose name is repeated
0:01:59 > 0:02:07in unison every day, and has been for decades.
0:02:08 > 0:02:10That's not the first time I've seen the morning assembly
0:02:10 > 0:02:13in a Cuban school.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16And it's funny because on one level, it reminds to you of
0:02:16 > 0:02:17when you were at school.
0:02:17 > 0:02:19But, of course, there's something here, something
0:02:19 > 0:02:21about the declaration towards undying commitment
0:02:21 > 0:02:24to communism and saying that you're going to be like Che Guevara
0:02:24 > 0:02:28that is purely unique to Cuba.
0:02:28 > 0:02:3150 years after his death, Che's image still adorns
0:02:31 > 0:02:34the corridors of the primary school, as he does in schools
0:02:34 > 0:02:39across the country.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42For the headteacher here, Waldir Ladron, who exactly was Che?
0:03:00 > 0:03:03Camila Granado was a pupil at this school herself before training
0:03:03 > 0:03:09as a teacher and returning three years ago.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12Che looked down on her as she studied in these same
0:03:12 > 0:03:15classrooms, just as he still does on a generation even further removed
0:03:54 > 0:03:57Ernesto Guevara was a guerrilla commander, an experienced doctor,
0:03:57 > 0:04:01a man of the people and right-hand man to Fidel Castro as he seized
0:04:01 > 0:04:05power in Cuba in 1959.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08Crucially, unlike some of those in the guerrilla army,
0:04:08 > 0:04:10Che Guevara was a committed Marxist from the very start
0:04:10 > 0:04:16of the Cuban revolution.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19And to this day, he remains a colossus in his adopted country's
0:04:19 > 0:04:22self image, as a bastion against imperialism and injustice.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26His last resting place a beacon for tens of thousands of visitors
0:04:26 > 0:04:40and pilgrims every year from the world over,
0:04:40 > 0:04:43fascinated by a life documented by iconic photographs and projected
0:04:43 > 0:04:45as the epitome of romance and rebellion.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47Ernesto Guevara was born into a middle-class Buenos Aires
0:04:47 > 0:04:49family and studied to be a doctor.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51But an adventurous streak saw him travel the continent.
0:04:52 > 0:04:54Influenced by examples of US intervention in the Americas,
0:04:54 > 0:04:58he joined a group of exiled Cubans led by Fidel Castro in their bid
0:04:58 > 0:05:00to remove the military regime in Havana.
0:05:00 > 0:05:02The men under his command began to call Guevara "Che",
0:05:02 > 0:05:04the Argentine slang for friend.
0:05:04 > 0:05:06Against the odds, after two years of guerrilla warfare
0:05:06 > 0:05:09in the Sierra Maestra mountains and in the cities,
0:05:09 > 0:05:10the bearded revolutionaries were victorious and took
0:05:11 > 0:05:15power in Cuba.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17Che's supporters saw in him the embodiment of the so-called
0:05:17 > 0:05:19"new man in socialism", the very driving force
0:05:19 > 0:05:20of the revolution.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23But to his opponents, he was ruthless and brutal.
0:05:23 > 0:05:28Che might have settled down.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30But instead, he took the revolutionary struggle abroad,
0:05:30 > 0:05:32entering countries in disguise.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34Who would have guessed that this smart businessman is,
0:05:34 > 0:05:37in fact, Che Guevara, preparing to reach Congo to wage
0:05:37 > 0:05:40a guerrilla campaign.
0:05:41 > 0:05:43But Che's enemies finally caught up with him, and in 1967,
0:05:44 > 0:05:45the revolutionary icon was killed, fomenting rebellion
0:05:45 > 0:05:50against the US-backed military junta in Bolivia.
0:05:50 > 0:06:01Terrorist to some, the image of Christ-like martyrdom to others.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04Only five made it back from Bolivia, and his fallen comrades are buried
0:06:04 > 0:06:09alongside him in this tomb in the town of Santa Clara.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12Luis Monteagudo fought with Che in Cuba and again
0:06:12 > 0:06:15during the revolutionary war in Congo.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17Still today he is under the spell of his comandante,
0:06:17 > 0:06:20Che.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23What do you feel when you see your friend here?
0:06:42 > 0:06:45Che was not alone in giving his life to international revolution.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48More than 2,000 Cubans died fighting in conflicts around the world.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51And those who survived still revere him.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55What was Che like as a leader and as a friend?
0:07:26 > 0:07:30If a young person from Europe or from the United States
0:07:30 > 0:07:34or from Africa was to come to you when they were visiting this
0:07:34 > 0:07:37space and say, "Well, what has the revolution achieved,
0:07:37 > 0:07:40what did it do?"
0:07:40 > 0:07:43What would you say to them?
0:08:05 > 0:08:07But cutting dependency on the US came with repercussions.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10An economic embargo was imposed which, together with a planned
0:08:10 > 0:08:20socialist-style economy, has left enduring scars.
0:08:20 > 0:08:22In the country, empty roads cut through swathes
0:08:22 > 0:08:23of underdeveloped agriculture.
0:08:23 > 0:08:25While in Havana, many homes are crumbling
0:08:25 > 0:08:32after years of underinvestment.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35The classic 1950s and Soviet-era cars aren't only iconic,
0:08:35 > 0:08:38they're a symbol of an island economically trapped in the past.
0:08:38 > 0:08:40But today, Cuba is beginning to change, not least
0:08:40 > 0:08:44in its fractious relationship with Washington.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48I have come here to bury the last remnant of the Cold War
0:08:48 > 0:08:48in the Americas.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50APPLAUSE
0:08:50 > 0:08:52Recently, President Trump has begun to roll back
0:08:52 > 0:08:53on that policy.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55However, the most obvious benefit of the new relations,
0:08:55 > 0:08:58a boost to tourism, so far seems unaffected.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01Ironically, much of the tourism features the great Marxist
0:09:01 > 0:09:03revolutionary himself, central to the island's brand,
0:09:03 > 0:09:15on every street corner, on every T-shirt.
0:09:15 > 0:09:17It's an irony that doesn't worry some, though.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20Among them, Che's son, who, as well as his distinctive features,
0:09:20 > 0:09:22also shares his father's first name, Ernesto.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25Along with an Argentinian investor, the Ernesto Guevara runs a motorbike
0:09:25 > 0:09:28tour company named after Che's famous bike of the Motorcycle
0:09:28 > 0:09:30Diaries, La Poderosa, on which he toured South America
0:09:30 > 0:09:43in the 1950s.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48Does his son sense the irony of building a capitalist enterprise
0:09:48 > 0:09:54on the life story of a Marxist icon?
0:10:14 > 0:10:17With so many new tourists to the island, business is booming
0:10:17 > 0:10:22for La Poderosa, and Ernesto is a busy man.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31Ernesto rarely talks to the media but has invited me to ride with him
0:10:31 > 0:10:35to experience Havana by motorbike.
0:10:35 > 0:10:37In its three-year existence, La Poderosa has taken advantage
0:10:37 > 0:10:44of new laws allowing private enterprise in Cuba.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46Previously, most private businesses were banned.
0:10:46 > 0:10:47Today, La Poderosa is gathering pace.
0:10:48 > 0:10:52It's close to paying back the initial foreign investment
0:10:52 > 0:10:55and operates a small fleet of the few Harley-Davidsons
0:10:55 > 0:10:56available on the island.
0:10:56 > 0:11:00On our tour, we'd arrived at a place of particular relevance to the story
0:11:00 > 0:11:08of El Che - La Cabana fortress.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37But La Cabana is synonymous with another part of Che's history.
0:11:37 > 0:11:41Over his six months in charge here, dozens of men and women received
0:11:41 > 0:11:43summary trials and were sent to the firing squad.
0:11:43 > 0:11:55The decades have come and gone.
0:12:31 > 0:12:33The decades have come and gone.
0:12:33 > 0:12:37So have the US presidents.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40But 50 years after Che's death, his portrait still assumes place
0:12:40 > 0:12:46of honour at the nation's annual demonstrations.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49The late Fidel Castro stood at this podium for countless marches
0:12:49 > 0:12:53in his signature fatigues and peaked cap.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56Today, his younger brother, Raul, presides over proceedings.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59But with Raul announcing he will step down early next year,
0:12:59 > 0:13:07it is perhaps as important as ever to demonstrate stability will reign
0:13:07 > 0:13:09on after the Castros in Cuba.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12This is the image that the Cuban government want to project of Cuban
0:13:13 > 0:13:15youth - loyal, dedicated and faithful.
0:13:15 > 0:13:23Young people turning out to pay homage to the socialist project.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26This man has been participating in the event since he was a small
0:13:26 > 0:13:27boy, and he's clearly a committed revolutionary.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44In Santa Clara, beneath the mausoleum of Che Guevara itself
0:13:44 > 0:13:46lies a poor neighbourhood known simply as the Hole.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49The residents never had permission to build their wooden shacks
0:13:49 > 0:14:05and breeze block homes so aren't legally recognised by the state.
0:14:27 > 0:14:29Gladys was born in this neighbourhood and has lived
0:14:29 > 0:14:30in it her entire life.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33But despite their proximity to one of the revolution's heroes,
0:14:33 > 0:14:38she says they've been ignored by the government for decades.
0:15:19 > 0:15:20MUSIC PLAYS
0:15:20 > 0:15:23The well-worn strains of the song that immortalises Che Guevara,
0:15:23 > 0:15:25sung by the Cuban bard Silvio Rodriguez,
0:15:25 > 0:15:33considered one of the revolution's most emblematic voices.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36The song is known off by heart by millions of Cubans
0:15:36 > 0:15:39and encapsulates how the Cuban state would like people to remember
0:15:39 > 0:15:50el comandante Che.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53But that vision isn't shared by the singer's son,
0:15:53 > 0:15:54Silvito El Libre.
0:15:54 > 0:16:00His reality is very different.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04Silvito's The Cuba You Don't Know takes a hard look at the island,
0:16:04 > 0:16:07raising the kind of issues that the authorities prefer to keep
0:16:07 > 0:16:09under wraps - violence, social decay and police control.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12Despite his uncompromising lyrics, Silvito insists he is no
0:16:12 > 0:16:18opponent of Cuba.
0:16:48 > 0:16:52But Silvito's candour has brought him problems.
0:16:52 > 0:17:02He says he's been detained and his friends have been
0:17:02 > 0:17:03intimidated by the authorities.
0:17:03 > 0:17:06It's led him to move away from the island to Tampa,
0:17:06 > 0:17:10Florida, where he is free to follow his career as a rapper.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13Do you think that fear is one of the legacies of the generation
0:17:13 > 0:17:15of El Che and Fidel Castro and Raul Castro?
0:18:03 > 0:18:05Few know that better than the island's dissidents.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08Among those calling for a new political system in Cuba
0:18:08 > 0:18:15are the ladies in white.
0:18:15 > 0:18:17Originally formed by the wives of political prisoners,
0:18:17 > 0:18:20their weekly protests to call for free elections are often broken
0:18:20 > 0:18:29up by the police and state security, the organisers arbitrarily detained.
0:18:29 > 0:18:30Libertad, libertad!
0:18:31 > 0:18:33They say they're calling for greater human rights on the island.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36The Cuban government accused them of being mercenaries funded
0:18:36 > 0:18:38by right-wing anti-Castro groups out of Miami and Washington.
0:18:39 > 0:18:41Certainly the Cuban government allows them no room to operate.
0:18:41 > 0:18:45This was their protest on the eve of a visit by President Obama
0:18:45 > 0:18:47in front of the world's watching media.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50When our cameraman tried to film a weekly protest outside the lady's
0:18:50 > 0:18:56house, the police intervened.
0:18:56 > 0:18:57He was told he couldn't film there.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01And the police removed the camera from the scene as the mood began
0:19:01 > 0:19:02to heat up.
0:19:02 > 0:19:04What happened next was predictable and swift.
0:19:04 > 0:19:10A number of women were detained that day.
0:19:10 > 0:19:15It's a side of Cuba that jars with a new hip image of the island
0:19:15 > 0:19:23in the eyes of the rest of the world.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26In some cases, even the image of Che Guevara no
0:19:26 > 0:19:27longer appears sacred.
0:19:27 > 0:19:28His revolutionary beret and olive-green fatigues drained
0:19:29 > 0:19:31of ideology and deployed for striking effect on Chanel models
0:19:31 > 0:19:39at their recent fashion show in Havana.
0:19:39 > 0:19:41Critics thought the show was condescending to ordinary
0:19:41 > 0:19:49Cubans, flaunting the worst of capitalism's excesses
0:19:49 > 0:19:51in front of them.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54But others thought it refreshingly reframed Cuba as a global cultural
0:19:54 > 0:19:55icon for the 21st century.
0:19:55 > 0:19:57That's exactly what people like Gabriela Domenech
0:19:57 > 0:20:03would like to see.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05Her fashion magazine, Garbos, is only available
0:20:05 > 0:20:07through a revolutionary idea called El Paquete.
0:20:07 > 0:20:09With very little internet permitted on the island,
0:20:09 > 0:20:12it distributes global but not overtly political popular control
0:20:12 > 0:20:14via a semilegal system of downloading using hard drives.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17She is optimistic about the magazine's impact.
0:20:17 > 0:20:23In spite of all the difficulties we are facing in Cuba,
0:20:23 > 0:20:26I think that young people, entrepreneurs, are very optimistic.
0:20:26 > 0:20:40All these kinds of people want to find their own way
0:20:40 > 0:20:41here in Cuba.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44They are trying to find a way to make a different country
0:20:44 > 0:20:46with new ideas, new projects.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49There is a lot of optimism in Cuba at the moment.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52But I can't help but wonder, 50 years after his death,
0:20:52 > 0:20:59how Che would feel if he viewed the island today.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02As the conversation turned back to Che Guevara,
0:21:02 > 0:21:04Gabriela had an extraordinary revelation about her family for me.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07My grandfather died with Che Guevara - in Bolivia.
0:21:07 > 0:21:09And he died struggling for the revolution,
0:21:09 > 0:21:10for the freedom of Cuba.
0:21:10 > 0:21:13So I grew up with this feeling in my family,
0:21:13 > 0:21:15and this is what the young people have now.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18This legacy and this force for struggling to get what we want.
0:21:18 > 0:21:32Gabriela's grandfather, she told me, was Orlando Pantoja,
0:21:32 > 0:21:35a guerrilla who fought alongside Che in Bolivia exactly 50 years ago.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38He died in the battle in which Che was captured.
0:21:38 > 0:21:39I was interested how Gabriela's family connection
0:21:40 > 0:21:41to the world-famous revolutionary influenced her life
0:21:41 > 0:21:43as an entrepreneur in today's emerging Cuba.
0:21:43 > 0:21:47Do you feel like you are inspired by the sacrifices of your
0:21:47 > 0:21:49grandfather and his generation, or are you growing away
0:21:49 > 0:22:03from what they built?
0:22:03 > 0:22:07In spite of I belong to another generation,
0:22:07 > 0:22:09of course, I feel inspired by this legacy.
0:22:09 > 0:22:13He was struggling by what he wanted, and I'm doing the same right now.
0:22:13 > 0:22:15Having died so young, today Che Guevara is all things
0:22:16 > 0:22:19to all people, adored and reviled in equal measure around the world
0:22:19 > 0:22:20for his socialist legacy.
0:22:20 > 0:22:22But inside Cuba his image has assumed almost spiritual
0:22:22 > 0:22:39significance, ever present in people's daily lives and struggles.
0:22:40 > 0:22:42As the island redraws its future, the uncertainty is tangible.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44Amid the transition, Che Guevara is a source
0:22:44 > 0:22:48of continuity, even as today's Cuba becomes further removed from the one
0:22:48 > 0:23:13he helped to create.