Saddle Up With Che's son Ernesto

for motorcycle tours of Cuba

John Newman

• JohnNewman

You might have worn the famous T shirt or had the poster image on your wall. If you haven't  or don't possess these, you are sure to have seen 'The Motorcycle Diaries'.

We're talking Che Guevara, one of the leaders of the Cuban revolution from 1953 -1959, when a guerilla army fought and overthrew Fulgencio Batista a dictator and tyrant propped up not only by the US government, but also by the rapacious crime syndicates of the same country.
Che fought alongside Fidel and Raul Castro, but left Cuba in 1965 intent on fighting for justice and revolution in other countries including what is now known as the Congo in central Africa, and in South America. He was captured by the Bolivian army with the assistance of the CIA, and executed by firing squad.
In 'The Motorcycle Diaries' - the film about his travels from his home in Argentina through South America on board an ageing single cylinder Norton named La Poderosa (The Mighty One) and in the company of his friend Alberto Granado – he witnessed the poverty and disease amongst the populations of the countries they travelled through: and the affect on both men led them to dedicate the rest of their lives to the struggle for justice and better living conditions.

The world turns, and it has just been announced that Che's son Ernesto (a lawyer) has formed a travel company in Cuba offering motorcycle tours in that country to well heeled and well walleted tourists who want to experience the country through Che's enthusiasm for two wheel travel.

Ernesto Guevara has named his company 'La Poderosa Tours' and will be offering six day packages for $3,000 (£1900) and nine day jaunts for $5,5800 (flights to Cuba not included) – the average monthly wage in Cuba is around $20.
The website www.lapoderosatours.com states:
'Our tours combine the delight of the varied landscapes of this beautiful island with intimate contact with a part of the history of a single revolution, which created a myth that still exists and that goes well beyond the geographical boundaries of Cuba'.
There are some delicious ironies at play here. The bikes they will be using are Harley Davidsons; symbolic to many of US power and excess: the negative and often disastrous affects of which the current Ernesto's father fought against most of his life. The US still continues with far reaching economic sanctions against the country, and Cubans who left after the revolution and settled in the US, still constitute a powerful political lobby against the country.  
Friends and acquintances who have travelled to Cuba tell of a vibrant and friendly people, great music, enticing beaches and landscapes, and the graceful colonial architecture of Havana. What better way to see and experience these things than from the saddle of a motorcycle?   
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