Following the Path of Che

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The adventurous spirit of the young Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara, middle-class road warrior and revolutionary in waiting, will be airing on Latin American television in coming weeks, courtesy of Fox - not generally known for sympathetic portraits of communist guerrillas.

Fox Latin American Channels, a division of Rupert Murdoch’s The News Corp., is distributor in the region for the National Geographic Channel, which on Sunday [June 10] debuts, ‘Los Caminos del Che,’ or The Roads of Che.’ The 10-chapter series roughly follows the route of the now-legendary South America jaunt via motorcycle and local transport of the pre-political Guevara (not yet known as Che, a common Argentine moniker) and his pal, Alberto Granado. The duo’s eight-month foray, launched in December 1951 on a beat-up Norton 500 motorcycle dubbed la Poderosa II [the Mighty One II], was also the subject of the 2004 film, ‘The Motorcycle Diaries,’ by Brazilian director Walter Salles.

Historians say the trip, exposing the hitherto-sheltered Guevara to the region’s poverty and injustice, was crucial in the ideological transformation of the medical student into revolutionary icon and T-shirt emblem.

In the series, two twentysomethings roughly retrace the path of Che and his buddy, starting in Argentina and ending up in Venezuela. The pair, chosen from among 100 who auditioned, are said to have ventured more than 8,000 miles, partly on a Yamaha moto.

This is the first National Geographic production filmed in Latin America specifically for the region’s audience, Diego Rec, marketing director for Fox Latin American Channels, told the Argentine daily Página 12. It is to be aired on five consecutive Sundays.

Posted by Patrick J. McDonnell and Andres D’Alessandro in Buenos Aires.