I knew that “Che,” who owed even his nickname to the Castro “revolution,” appeared on Cuban paper money. Indeed, in 1959 he was made president of the National Bank of Cuba, which he was till 1961 — the fact he was completely unqualified (except politically) was beside the point. Notoriously, his name on bills was just the word “Che” in cursive above the title President of the Bank — as if that were cute or cool as opposed to arrogant and unprofessional.
However, I was unaware his grim visage also appeared on Cuban coinage, which I somehow found more offensive. Coins to me are more physically substantial than paper bills, more lasting, more of a record and testimony. On his coin, as so often, “Che” looks frankly psychopathic, with the weird bony malformation on his forehead, his “I’m the shit” expression, and of course the damn beret. But yes, one must admit he belongs next to the word MUERTE.
Patria, though, is another matter. He really had none. His life had very little to do with his native Argentina, and he certainly never identified as a Cuban or even remotely resembled one — not that he would have wanted to. But the real abomination is that all he ever did for Cuba was noxiously perverse, including having many Cubans killed, and the long and the short of it is he was a stinking ALIEN. Yet there he is, on Cuban bills, Cuban coins, his face plastered everywhere on the island he helped to sink into the Marxist muck — and a purported role model for kids, no less.
But, Cubans can never be humiliated, degraded and demeaned enough. That’s been happening in myriad ways ever since January 1st, 1959. It doesn’t matter what the official regime line may be, since the “revolution” was always a lie and has never stopped lying. Of course, it MUST lie, same as all evil. Its power and survival absolutely depend on lies, which are not optional but necessary–though the truth is clear enough to those who care to see it.
Still, those coins disgust me. Lord, the shame, and the eternal disgrace.
Castro never felt Cuban. He hated the country of his birth and hated Cubans too. That’s why he made Cuba a colony of the USSR and allowed a foreigner like Che to execute innocent Cubans. My father saw Che in person. He was giving a press conference in Cuba and he [repeating Castro’s talking points] was referring to Cuban women as if they were all prostitutes. Instead of the Cubans surrounding him kicking his f**kin a**, they applauded him. Talk about sycophancy and a lack of dignity. They say that “los pueblos tienen los lideres que se merecen.”
The bit with signing those bills with just his nickname was a would-be rock star move, and no doubt he saw himself as a superstar, though he always played the role of Fidel’s bitch. As for Castro, he just didn’t care about anyone or anything but himself, so everything was seen and treated in terms of what he wanted. He used Cubans and Cuba like he used Che–as tools.