On June 14, when Ernesto Che Guevara would have turned 83, his widow, Aleida March, decided to release the previously unpublished journals the Argentine revolutionary wrote about the Cuban revolution, reported UPI. The journals are part of a series of tributes to his journalistic work, in particular his work for the magazine Olive Green, which he founded, according to Prensa Libre.
The publication of "Diary of a Combatant," is the testimony Guevara wrote in the mountains of the Sierra Maestra during the armed uprising in which he fought along side Fidel Castro, explained AFP.
According to The Guardian, March said the diaries were released to "acknowledge his thoughts, life and work."
Reporters, designers and photographers who worked along side Guevara stressed that his journalistic work is reflected in more than 80 opinion pieces, narratives and photo-reports published by the magazine.
"Journalism was an inherent profession for Guevara from his time as a youth in Argentina... As a youngster, he founded in his hometown of Rosario the magazine Tackle, in the pages of which appeared the results of local rugby tournaments. During his time in Mexico, in 1954 he covered the VII Central American and Caribbean Sports Games as a photojournalist for a news agency," recalled Juan Morales Aguero for Tiempo 21. He also founded the emblematic guerrilla radio station, Radio Rebelde, Morales added.
According to EFE, the publication of his journals is an important contribution because, although Guevara's history is well known, his personal experiences during his first years as a guerrilla fighter have been jealously guarded up until now.
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
