Drinking a coffee at the iconic Cafe La Habana in Mexico City, where Che Guevara and Fidel Castro planned the Cuban Revolution.
Che Guevara
Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara, Marxist revolutionary, born in Rosario, Argentina, on June 14 1928. He studied medicine at the University of Buenos Aires and in 1950, undertook a solo bicycle expedition and later a motorcycle tour with Alberto Granado. The notes of which led to the iconic book, “The Motorcycle Diaries”.
In 1953, he set out again, travelling through, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala before arriving in Mexico City on September 21, 1954.
He worked in the allergy department of the General Hospital:
It is believed that Che Guevara lived at this apartment on Calle Napoles, in Mexico City:
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Cuba (1959 – 1976) and later as President (1976 – 2008), born in Biran, Oriente in Cuba, on August 13, 1926.
Whilst studying law at the University of Havana, Castro adopted leftist and anti-imperialist ideas. After getting involved with rebellions in the Dominican Republic and Colombia, he planned to overthrow the then-president of Cuba, Fulgencio Batista. He was arrested after attacking the Moncada Barracks in 1953.
In 1955, he travelled to Mexico and formed the 26th of July Movement, the date of the failed attack in Santiago de Cuba, with his brother Raul.
Where did Che Guevara first meet Fidel Castro?
Fidel Castro lived at Calle José de Emparán 49, Tabacalera, Cuauhtémoc, Mexico City. This is the plaque which commemorates the first meeting of Fidel Castro and Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara in July 1955:
Soon after they first met, Guevara joined the 26th of July Movement, and they would frequently meet at the Café La Habana in Mexico City (Av. Morelos 62, Juárez, Cuauhtémoc):
Plaque in the Café La Habana with the names of the cafe’s most famous clients, Octavio Paz, Fidel Castro, Ernesto Guevara, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Jesus Martinez, Renato Leduc and Roberto Bolaño:
Together, they planned the Cuban Revolution.
During the Summer of 1956, Guevara, Castro and several Cubans were arrested for Illegal possession of firearms and jailed for a short period.
After their release, they set sail for Cuba and within 2 years had overthrown Batista.
129C Coahuila Safe House
In this building at 129C Coahuila Street in Colonia Roma, history quietly took shape. Here, in 1956, Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro held key meetings and coordinated the departure of several combatants bound for the Granma expedition. This apartment was part of a network of safe houses in Mexico City that, together with Mexican allies and Cuban exiles, made the beginning of the Cuban Revolution possible.
