Guevara's daughter visits Oxford

The following article appeared in the Oxford Mail following Aleida’s visit to Oxford as part of the ‘Remembering Che’ tour.

Aleida Guevara, the eldest daughter of the iconic Argentinian revolutionary, visited Oxford yesterday on the last stop of her Remembering Che tour.

As well as signing books and taking a whistlestop tour of Oxford, she used the trip to raise awareness of the situation in Cuba, which has been under blockade by the United States for 50 years.

In an exclusive interview with the Oxford Mail, she said: “The main purpose is to speak about the Cuban reality today, the struggle we wage in Cuba against the American blockade.

 “In the first place the United States has to lift the blockade. That will make life for Cubans much easier. Then it would be necessary to achieve a greater unity among Latin American countries.”

She spoke about her father, who was executed in Bolivia when she was seven years old, with great admiration, and said she had seen a massive demonstration of respect for him and his beliefs in Britain.

She said: “I didn’t get to live for a long time with my father, it was only through the love that my mother had for him that I learned who he really was.”

Fans of Dr Guevara and her family packed the Waterstones store in Broad Street to have copies of her mother’s book Remembering Che and other texts signed.

And Leighton Gibbins, 41, from Thame, pictured with Dr Guevara, said: “I came because of my interest in Che. He was a hero of mine.”