When your father happens to be Ernesto "Che" Guevara, the Argentine Marxist revolutionary who was an engine of the Cuban Revolution, you learn early in life to be emotionally strong, grounded and defiant -- proud of your ideology, regardless of how it may be viewed by the rest of the world.
This is what Aleida Guevara, the eldest of four children born to Che and his second wife, Aleida March, had to say about her childhood. Guevara was in Bangkok for the launch of her mother's memoir Remembering Che: My Life With Che Guevara, which has been translated into Thai by Benjamas Wongsam.
Aleida March and Che were comrades-in-arms prior to their marriage. In the 1950s, she was involved in the Fidel Castro-led guerrilla movement fighting to overthrow the dictatorial Batista regime. She first met Che while acting as a courier.
March's book recounts her childhood experiences, followed by the arduous years of fighting alongside Che, complete with gory details of guerrilla warfare. She also recalls the post-revolution period when Che went off to fight in Africa and later Bolivia. Che, of course, looms large in the narrative, but the clarity of March's voice ensures that this is her story -- and her family's as well.
"Essentially, the book is a love story between two people who were committed to the cause of revolution in Cuba," Aleida Guevara said.
Remembering Che: My Life With Che Guevara, now translated into Thai, was written by Guevara's second wife Aleida March. Photos courtesy of Gypzy Group
Che was born into a middle-class family and studied medicine at Buenos Aires University. While still a student, he and a friend travelled throughout South America on motorcycle. The widespread poverty and oppression that he saw had a profound effect on the young Che, leading to his radicalisation. As the fire of Marxism swept through the continent, Che came to believe that armed revolution was essential to overcoming tyranny in Latin America.
Fast forward more than half-a-century and the iconic revolutionary's face can be seen plastered across merchandise from T-shirts to truck mudflaps -- a symbol of nonconformity, anti-establishment and revolution.
"I don't take offence in seeing father's face on such merchandise," said Guevara. "In fact, I believe it helps the young generation today to become curious to learn about him."
Guevara, like her father, studied medicine. She once interned in Nicaragua because she saw a need the country had, which she could fill as an aspiring doctor. She was just six when her father was executed in Bolivia in 1967, in an operation aided by the US. He was buried in a secret location but in 1997 his remains were discovered, exhumed and returned to Cuba, where he was reburied.
After her father's death, Guevara said her mother took on the role of father and mother with dedication and perseverance. It was March that instilled a strong value system in the character of her children, keeping Che's memories alive during an often difficult childhood. Guevara recalls that her mother never used her father's larger than life "guerrilla leader" persona as a way to tell her children off or threaten them when they were being naughty.
Che Guevara's eldest daughter Aleida spoke fondly about her father during a group interview with the Thai press. Gypzy Group
"Father was always the good guy," she said. "He deserved the highest respect from his children. To this day, I have not heard her speak ill of him."
Her recollections of Che, whom she fondly refers to as "Papi", are sketchy. Being a revolutionary meant that he was not around much -- for Che, it was a full-time job that took priority over everything else. And yet the moments Guevara did have with her father were precious.
One special memory she has was when she was around five. Decades on from the event, she speaks about it as it were yesterday: "We enjoyed Papi very little, but when we did, it was always special.
"I still recall him carrying me in his strong arms as I slept with my mother one night. Despite it being a fleeting moment, I felt his love and warmth which to this day is etched on my memory because of its emotional intensity."
Describing the man her father was, she continued: "[He] readily helped people in need. His comrades to this day recall the compassion he had for others. He never ordered his subordinates to perform duties he could do himself. He lived the life he preached. If he saw a person without shoes he would give his and walk barefoot. He was very self-sacrificial. When they found his remains he was barefoot."
On her relationship with Fidel Castro, Guevara noted that after Che's death, he became a second father to them. She called him "mi tio" -- my uncle -- and maintained a close relationship with him until his death in 2016. Rumours of an alleged rift between her father and Castro she refutes as baseless.
"It is natural to not see eye to eye with a friend on everything, but that does not mean they had a falling out," she said. "My encounters with Fidel were always warm and cordial. After my father's death it became even stronger. All my siblings have fond memories of him. When I decided to get married, he was one of the first people who gave his blessings."
Guevara, who grew up in Havana, went on to share that her family did not enjoy any special privileges because of who her father was. Despite the celebrity status they had begun to receive, Guevara said her mother kept them in check and saw to it that they would remain grounded.
Guevara is delighted to be witness to the fact that Che continues to live in the hearts of Cubans and the millions across the world who idolise him.
Nearly 60 years have passed since the Cuban Revolution shook Latin America and over 50 since Che was executed. The world imagined by Che, Castro and other revolutionaries has not materialised. Latin America is still constantly undergoing change -- and not always for the better.
Asked what Che would have to say about the political, economic and social issues plaguing Latin American countries today, she noted: "Papi loved to find solutions to people's everyday problems. I am certain he would have had a lot to say about the issues Latin American countries are facing today, and he would help in finding solutions for it.
"One thing is for sure, he would never stop fighting for what is just and right."
Guevara was vocal about the manner in which US sanctions on Cuba have had a debilitating effect on her country.
"People might have heard about the sanctions, but might not be able to comprehend just to what extent it has crippled the country," she said. "One example is how Cuba purchases baby milk powder. Due to the sanctions, no country is willing to export this to us. So what do we do? We have to hire ships to purchase baby milk powder from New Zealand, on the other side of the globe. Now these ships put themselves in a conundrum by helping us because they would be barred from entering the US for six months for bringing us these milk tins as punishment. We have to pay three to four times more for these ships to deliver such a basic necessity to us."
The book Remembering Che features a poem Che wrote for Aleida March before he went off to Bolivia: "Goodbye, my one and only / Do not tremble before the ravenous wolf / On the cold field of separation / I will take you with me in my heart / And we'll have each other until the path melts away."
For Aleida Guevara, no matter how the world changes, these verses still ring true.
Aleida with their four children. Gypzy Group