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The revolution

March 30, 2005

Who is that guy?

That's probably the question people ask when they see someone wearing a portrait of a man with a beret and a stoic expression. And even those who might know his name might not know exactly what he stands for.

This is Ernesto Rafael Guevara de la Serna, better known as Che Guevara. Born in Argentina in 1928, Guevara is best known as a Marxist revolutionary and Cuban guerrilla leader. During a motorcycle tour in 1951, Guevara witnessed the poverty of Central and South America, leading him to study Marxism. After graduation from medical school, Guevara linked with fellow revolutionary Fidel Castro to overthrow Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. In 1967, Guevara was captured and executed.

Guevara's popularity seemed to explode after the 2004 flick "The Motorcycle Diaries," adapted from a book of Guevara's travels.

Now, much like the Malcolm X trend of the 1990s, Guevara's face is everywhere - on T-shirts, hats, even book bags. East Lansing resident Justin Richard, left, is wearing one of the shirts available at In Flight Sports, 507 E. Grand River Ave.

For more information on Guevara, check out che-lives.com.

1. The shirt is probably the most common item of all the Guevara merchandise. Most will have a black outline of his face against a red background. Check out t-shirtking.com for more examples.

Replicas of Guevara's beret are available. Wackyplanet.com has items in stock.

Having all these on at once is probably overkill, but in moderation, it can make a bold statement.

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