The Beginning of Che Guevara Interview
Reporter: What was your childhood like?
Che: Well, in my younger days I was the eldest of 5 children in my family. I was born with severe asthma. I hated it because it prevented me from attending school normally until I was 9 but that didn't stop me from getting involved in my most cherished hobbies. I had excelled as an athlete, enjoyed swimming, soccer, golf, and shooting; while also becoming a cyclist. I was also a rugby player where I had gotten my nickname ''Fuser'' because of my aggressive style for playing the game. When I was 12 my father would teach me chess and I'd learn the tactics of the game and would participate in many tournaments. As I got older I gained an interest in literature, my house would contain 3000 books all of which I could take to read as a past time and also all out through my childhood for some reason I would love to sit down and just write poetry, it was a way to express myself.
Reporter: Why did you decide to take a break from heading towards your medical career?
Che: At first that was my initial plan and I had decided enroll in medical school because I myself was suffering with asthma. Why not help others with their problems? However I was young and restless and wanted to explore parts of the world. I took a break from college because this journey became the most important thing for me to accomplish. I wanted to make my life as exciting as it could be, all my life I was always planning and for once I wanted to embark something that was unplanned, just go where the world takes me. My first expedition was a 4,500 kilometer trip through northern Argentina on a bicycle with a small motor I had put in. Later on my friend Alberto Granado tagged along and we head of to Chile on a tiny motor bike named La Ponderosa II and explore some more.
Reporter: What led you to change your mind about becoming a doctor and instead head towards politics?
Che: As soon as we arrived I found myself enraged seeing the working conditions of the miners in the Chuquicamata copper mine. I will never forget, I saw a couple who didn't even own a blanket, they were shivering flesh and blood. On our way to Machu Picchu, I was shocked by the poverty of theses remote areas, where peasant farmers worked on land owned by wealthy landlords , which didn't seem right to me what so ever. The things that were happening to these people awakened me that which my eyes could not see. Sooner or later I had to come home to finish my school work I had just traveled through Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Panama, and to Miami, before returning home. I finally completed my studies and received my medical degree making me officially a doctor. Later i went back on my journey and got more engaged with poverty, and disease. A lot of people needed my help but with no money it was hard to treat people. It was these experiences that were convincing me that in order to help these people, I needed to leave the medical world, and consider the political world. This journey awakened me to the injustice that was happening in different communities making it a turning point for me in my life. This is how I became as I am proud to be known as today.
Che: Well, in my younger days I was the eldest of 5 children in my family. I was born with severe asthma. I hated it because it prevented me from attending school normally until I was 9 but that didn't stop me from getting involved in my most cherished hobbies. I had excelled as an athlete, enjoyed swimming, soccer, golf, and shooting; while also becoming a cyclist. I was also a rugby player where I had gotten my nickname ''Fuser'' because of my aggressive style for playing the game. When I was 12 my father would teach me chess and I'd learn the tactics of the game and would participate in many tournaments. As I got older I gained an interest in literature, my house would contain 3000 books all of which I could take to read as a past time and also all out through my childhood for some reason I would love to sit down and just write poetry, it was a way to express myself.
Reporter: Why did you decide to take a break from heading towards your medical career?
Che: At first that was my initial plan and I had decided enroll in medical school because I myself was suffering with asthma. Why not help others with their problems? However I was young and restless and wanted to explore parts of the world. I took a break from college because this journey became the most important thing for me to accomplish. I wanted to make my life as exciting as it could be, all my life I was always planning and for once I wanted to embark something that was unplanned, just go where the world takes me. My first expedition was a 4,500 kilometer trip through northern Argentina on a bicycle with a small motor I had put in. Later on my friend Alberto Granado tagged along and we head of to Chile on a tiny motor bike named La Ponderosa II and explore some more.
Reporter: What led you to change your mind about becoming a doctor and instead head towards politics?
Che: As soon as we arrived I found myself enraged seeing the working conditions of the miners in the Chuquicamata copper mine. I will never forget, I saw a couple who didn't even own a blanket, they were shivering flesh and blood. On our way to Machu Picchu, I was shocked by the poverty of theses remote areas, where peasant farmers worked on land owned by wealthy landlords , which didn't seem right to me what so ever. The things that were happening to these people awakened me that which my eyes could not see. Sooner or later I had to come home to finish my school work I had just traveled through Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Panama, and to Miami, before returning home. I finally completed my studies and received my medical degree making me officially a doctor. Later i went back on my journey and got more engaged with poverty, and disease. A lot of people needed my help but with no money it was hard to treat people. It was these experiences that were convincing me that in order to help these people, I needed to leave the medical world, and consider the political world. This journey awakened me to the injustice that was happening in different communities making it a turning point for me in my life. This is how I became as I am proud to be known as today.
