I’m getting a little bored of writing about these damn cities, the usual shit – great bars, restaurants and colonial architecture, bla, bla, bla – so on this occasion I’ll just write about something that really interests me, yes it’s back to the great Che Guevara, the son of Rosario.  I have also included the photos of Rosario below.

On the outskirts of Rosario there stands a four metres four tonne tall bronze replica of ‘el Che’ – depicted in his combat fatigues and characteristic beret.  The story behind the stature I think is so interesting.

Thousands of people donated some 75,000 pieces of bronze to Andrés Zerneri, the Argentinean sculptor. Old candlesticks, padlocks, decorative objects and even relics were sent from all over the world – particularly bronze keys of houses abandoned by Argentineans who fled the military dictatorship that ruled Argentina in the ’70s.

While in the course of time their lives have returned to normal, the keys remained an important token of the past. The monument of Che provided them with the right opportunity to give the key a new place: it was melted and became part of the ‘new’ Che. Che Guevara’s statue is filled with memories of its donors and thus became truly a people’s statue.

I don’t quite understand the government’s stance on the legendary figure, I get the feeling they regard him as a deserter and not this great revolutionary.  For years the nation cried out for a monument and eventually they buckled under the pressure.  But when finished it was erected 1.5hrs walk outside the city centre in a run down park amongst the litter and graffiti.  A complete travesty and disrespectful in my opinion.  One would wonder why it wasn’t it erected in the park of independence in the city centre.

Would you believe it – I swapped a book for Motorcycle Diaries but somehow (in a rush no doubt) left it behind at one of our hostels.  Absolutely gutted.  Getting hold of such a good book in English is rather difficult here!