Check out these cool pictures of Che!!! Click the link to see more.

http://www.photosnack.com/9C769D6569B/pd1jwi88

Video Walkthrough

This is a walk through of all the places Che Guevara visited on his 9 month journey in 1952 through South America.

Corazones Para Peru Non-profit

As seen in our latest blog post there is a lot of inequality in Peru, as well as all around Latin America. Telling you about these issues is great and will hopefully raise awareness for the inequality that is going on, but there is more we can do. Our hope here at the Argentina and Chile Diaries is that these problems that South America is facing will eventually cease. That is why we are going to promote and tell you about Corazones Para Peru. This non-profit’s goal is similar to ours and that is why we are telling you about it. This non-profit has already made a huge impact in the lives of many Peruvian citizens. They have already successfully built and maintained schools. Over the past 15 years Corazones has put over 2 million US dollars into education in Peru.

 

However education is not the only focus of Corazones. They also are fighting for everyone to have clean drinking water, substantial food, and necessary medical care. Their efforts to change the world and Peru have been valiant, however they can not do this work without your support. Whether it is just donating money to support the purchases of necessary items, taking a vacation to volunteer in the Andes, or just spreading the word about the organization, anything would help. That is why if you could go check out their website http://herzenhelfen.de/index.php?lang=en or like them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/corazonesparaperu please show your support and do your part in this noble fight against inequality.

Peru Inequality

Today in Peru there is massive amounts of inequality. When Che went on his journey there was a lot more but it has been on the decline lately. One of the main things that the trip did to him was, change the way he looked at South America. He hated the inequality more than anything he experienced. He wanted to change that.

Currently in Peru the inequality has been on a decline due to labor markets growth. Also the per capita is increasing and the lower standards of living are increasing which is more important. The results are astonishing because over 500,000 people were lifted out of poverty in 2012. In 2009 UNICEF calculated that 78% of children whose first language was Quechua or Aymara lived in poverty, compared to 40% of those whose mother tongue was Spanish. In Che’s journey he encountered a family of Quechua who were living in a run down town. They were sitting by a brick building eating leaves from a plant. Che first hand encountered raw inequality. Each time he encountered a different perspective of inequality it changed him a little. When Che and Alberto were walking to the coal mine, they meet a couple that was homeless. They spent the night with them and realized how many people lived in poverty. Since Che and Alberto lived in the upper class in Buenos Aires, they never realized what the inequality was like.

Near the end of their journey they stopped at a leper colony in San Pablo, Peru. The sick people would stay on one side of the river while the healthy doctors and nuns stayed on the other. The lepers were treated as less equal and even not human. Che had a big problem with that but could tell that not many, if any at all, of the healthy people did. He ended up swimming across the river one night to spend his birthday with the lepers. I believe this is what changed Che’s life to the turning point where he had to do something about it.

The Motorcycle Diaries Film Review

The Motorcycle Diaries, directed by Walter Salles, is a visually stunning movie about the travels of a young Che Guevara and his older friend Alberto Granado. It’s based on the book written by Guevara himself, and it got a fairly positive critical response.

To start off, the movie has great scenery, great acting, great dialogue, and just quality production overall. The character’s interactions are natural, entertaining, and sometimes hilarious. Everyone was well casted, with Gael Garcia Bernal playing a believable Che Guevara. While there wasn’t anything terribly dramatic, the acting was good for what it was. The movie’s real strength was its writing. The flowing dialogue kept the movie interesting and dynamic, saving otherwise boring scenes. But good dialogue doesn't necessarily make a good movie, and it's underlying themes left more to be desired.

The movie never really blew me away because it saves the inner journey of Guevara for the end, filling the rest of the movie with motorcycle crashes and dancing. And that’s not too bad, but when the end does come it isn’t very effective. The black and white images of the men and women stuck in poverty remind me of a sad commercial asking for donations. Sure it was sad, but it was only worth a commercial, not an entire movie. On top of that, Salles never takes any time to develop any characters at all. The two main characters are so blatantly oversimplified it’s ridiculous. Guevara is portrayed as a perfect young hero who is very honest and determined, while Granado is a horny, lying, funny guy who is basically just there to make Guevara look better. Other than those two there are no characters worth mentioning, which is disappointing because there were so many opportunities. Che’s girlfriend, Chichina, is as close as the movie gets to adding a full third character. Which isn’t very close. And while there are many other people Guevara and Granado meet along the way, pretty much all of them are nameless and impersonal.

Without reading the book, the movie wouldn't be nearly as meaningful. Che’s inner thoughts and motives are never touched on, and the brutal details of the poverty he told of in the book were left out (probably to keep the targeted audience). Like I said before, there also could have been a lot more character development and complexity even in just Guevara and Granado. Really the movie sacrifices the most moving elements of the book to produce a more enjoyable watching experience for the general public. Which is fine because the movie is very fun to watch. But for the full story I would suggest reading the book, preferably first. Without it the movie just isn't as meaningful. The extreme poverty and inequality Che wrote about in the book, along with his thoughts along the way, are barely touched on in the movie. And those were the things that made the book important in the first place.

Overall, most of the film is just two men traveling around South America, and it basically just cashes in on Che's name. In the movie Guevara could be replaced with any other traveler, it just wouldn’t be as intriguing to watch. The film also removes the first person narration that was in the book, making the adventure much less personal. Even so, the entertaining dialogue, beautiful scenery, and solid acting make it well worth watching. It's just not worth thinking about afterwards.

Music in Argentina

Nueva Canción- In the 50’s and 60’s this musical movement became extremely popular. The music was influenced by Cueca, latin american folk music, and parts of British rock. The music usually talked about the political problems of the 70’s. The harsh leadership during the 70’s caused the public to really connect with the lyrics of the songs and have unity despite political hardships.

Folk Music- Folk music in argentina is influenced by many different cultures but mostly by indigenous and European influences. This genre was revived in 1950 by Los Chalchaleros, Los Fronterizos, and Ábalos brothers. The Cosquin National Folklore Festival is an annual event in Argentina were many musicians gather.

Cuarteto- This form of music was made in Corbata. This music and dance was derived from Italian and Spanish dance ensembles. Some famous artists are Cuarteto Leo, Carlos Mona Jiménez, and Walter Olmos.

Cumbia- This popular genre of music is from the Caribbean coast of Colombia and Panama. It started when the African slaves practices a courtship dance that was then infused with African and European music and instruments. The Cumbia is a more popular than the salsa in many regions around the Andes.

Chacarera- This genre was created in Argentina. Thought the exact roots of Chacarera are unknown, it is often referred to as the rural form of Tango. This genre is considered to be a “back to the roots” genre of music, that symbolizes nationalism in Argentina.

Tango- One of the most well known forms of dance from Latin America, it is considered to be the closest form to the original Argentine, Chilean, and Uruguayan dance. This dance form is still common today. In 2009 the tango was declared part of the world's "intangible cultural heritage" by UNESCO. This music and dance form is still common today.

Quote Analysis

"And I began to realize at that time, that there were things that were almost as important to me as becoming famous for making a significant contribution to medical science: I wanted to help these people."
This quote takes place when Alberto and Che Guevara are in Chile at the mines. During this time in the story, Che becomes very angry because the miners were being treated very poorly, and unfairly. Many of the miners were separated from there families, and told to do ridiculous things. Currently, Chile is said to have the widest inequality gap in all of the 34 countries in South America, according to the organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development. The OECD determines a countries inequality rate by comparing the disposable income of the richest 10 percent and the poorest 10 percent of the countries population. Education also plays a large role in the inequality in Chile. Only 9 years of education are required, and the rest of the years are needed to be payed for, which is very hard for a majority of Chilean families.