Alberto Granado - On Che

On Che

"What I appreciated most was Che's honesty — and his ability to transform negative things into positive things. ... he was not compromising. It wasn't easy unless you shared his vision and believed in it." —Alberto Granado

In her film "My Best Friend", producer Clare Lewins asks Granado what he believes to be the reason for Che Guevara's continuing attraction, his response was:

"Because he was a man who fought and died for what he thought was fair, so for young people, he is a man who needs to be followed. And as time goes by and countries are governed by increasingly corrupt people ... Che's persona gets bigger and greater, and he becomes a man to imitate. He is not a God who needs to be praised or anything like that, just a man whose example we can follow, in always giving our best in everything we do."

Before Guevara left Cuba in 1965 to pursue revolutions abroad, he left several books with inscriptions for close friends. Included with these was one book about the sugar industry for his old friend Granado. The message, which two years later after Che's execution in Bolivia would seem prescient, read: "My dreams shall know no bounds, at least until bullets decide otherwise. I’ll be expecting you, sedentary gypsy, when the smell of gunpowder subsides. A hug for all of you, Che."