A Wedding and The Funeral

On July 12, 1997, Cuba’s communist-party paper Granma, published a note on its cover that the remains of Ernesto Che Guavara had been found almost three decades after Che had been killed in Bolivia. It was also announced that the funeral would take place in Cuba, three months later, in October. The news sparked a deep conflict in me and it felt like fate was kidding with me. October — exactly when I was supposed to be the best man at my best school buddy’s wedding in Germany. How many times in life does one get the honor of being the best man at their oldest school friend’s wedding!

Che Guevara bust in La Higuera and the school where he was shot on Oct 9, 1967, in the background.

Argentinian actor Alfredo Vasco on the set to "Che", a movie about Ernesto Che Guevara, filmed on location in Santa Clara in 1997, where Che assaulted a train of Batista's Armed Forces in December of 1958, which finally led to Bastista's escape from Cuba and the victory of Castro's revolution.

The remains of Che Guevara's and fellow guerilleros in the Santa Clara mausoleum

Cuban Geidrich bears a Che Tattoo on his arm, Santa Lucia, Camagüey, 2008.

Cuban pioneers pass by a billboard with the image of Che Guevara on their way back home after school, on the road to Vinales, Pinar del Rio, 2014.

Cubans at a Medico de la Familia, Family Doctor, in Old Havana. Che Guevara painting.

General Harry Villegas, aka Pombo, who was fighting with Che Guevara since he was 15, first in the cuban Revolution, later in the Congo and finally in Bolivia, where Che Guevara was killed. In the back, Ministry of Interior, Che Guevara Image (after Alberto Korda's photo), Plaza de la Revolucion, Havana, 2004.

A cuban boy jokes with a friend as he stands under an image of late guerilla fighter Che Guevara in Biran, Fidel Casro's birthplace. Words read the most famous sentence written by Che Guevara: Hasta la Victoria Siempre (Until Victory, forever). 2007.

Cuban barber Michel always has Che photo next to where he cuts hair.Old Havana, 2016.

All images in this gallery © Sven Creutzmann.

I was devastated and for days did not know what to do. On top of everything else, the news of Che’s funeral came out the very day of my friend’s birthday. In 1997, I had already been covering the Cuban Revolution for over nine years and was the only German photojournalist with a permanent work-permit in Cuba. As such, I was lucky to be regarded as “our man in Havana” for several German and international magazines. So, it was a huge personal dilemma between choosing to cover the funeral of Che Guevara or being present at fro my friend. Heavy conflicts and thunderstorms of doubt raged in my brain and in the end, like so many times before and after, I surrendered to my profession and with a heavy heart I had to tell my friend that I would not be at his wedding.

A young Cuban pioneer holds an image of Che as the caravan with his remains passes through a village on its way to Santa Clara.

Tens of thousands of Cubans pay tribute to Che Guevara, at the Jose Marti monument, Plaza de la Revolucion.

Participants of Che's funeral ceremony, Oct 17, 1997, Santa Clara.

Guard of honor next to the remains of Che Guevara, at the Jose Marti monument, Plaza de la Revolucion.

The mausoleum with the remains of late guerilla fighter Ernesto Che Guevara and others who fought and died with Che in Bolivia, in the Che Guevara Memorial, in Santa Clara, Cuba, 2017.

Soldiers carry Che's chest into the mausoleum's chamber, funeral ceremony, Oct 17, 1997, Santa Clara.

Susana Osinaga, nurse who cleaned the corpse of Che, in the laundry of the Senor de Malta hospital, where Che's body was presented to the international press as proof that he had been killed.

General Gary Prado was leading the operation of the Bolivian military that lead to the detention of Che Guevara on Oct8,1967, in the Quebrada del Churo,near La Higuera, Bolivia. Prado sits in the wheelchair since a friendy fire bullet hit his back. Santa Cruz, 2004.

Che's remains were buried here for almost three decades, at the dust-airstrip in Vallegrande, Bolvia, until they were found in July 1997.

All images in this gallery © Sven Creutzmann.

The remains of Che and other fellow guerilla fighters were finally brought in to Cuba in October. Their flag-draped chests were first laid out in Havana for the Habaneros, to pay tribute to the historic commander and his comrades. They were then transported on a motorcade to Santa Clara, for two more days of homage, before being laid to rest in a mausoleum on October 17, 1997 — thirty years and eight days after Che was killed in La Higuera, a small village in the mountains of Bolivia. Today, marks the 23rd anniversary of Che’s funeral.

Che Guevara painting (after the photo of Alberto Korda) in La Higuera, where Che spent his last night and was executed on Oct9, 1967.

A bronce bust of Che Guevara at the ISA, Instituo Superior de Arte, Havana's art university, 2004.

Wagner, Cuban rap musician of the band La Familia, with a Che Guevara Tattoo on his arm, during a rehearsal at a Centro Habana rooftop, 2006.

Old cuban couple dances at christmas eve next to a Che Guevara image and a christmas tree, 1992.

Ernesto Che Guevara propaganda in a state office. Santiago de Cuba, 2003.

Che Guevar's image on the 3 Peso banknotes and coins of the Cuban Peso, next to chewing gum for sale in a restaurant.

Cuban models of the KINGS OF SALSA, a show by british theater producer Jon Lee, pose during a photoshoot in a garage against the backdrop of the Che Guevara image, 2007.

Granma, official party paper, announcing that the remains of Che Guevara were found in Bolivia, July 12, 1997.

Replica of the Che Guevara Bolivia diary showing Oct 6th and 7th, the last days that Che wrote in the diary, before he was caught on Oct 8th, 1967. Vallegrande, Bolvia, 2019.

People gather under the statue of Che Guevara after the end of a political act at the Plaza de la Revolucion to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the death of Ernesto Che Guevara, on October 8, 2017 in Santa Clara, Cuba.

All images in this gallery © Sven Creutzmann.

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PS: When I told my friend that I would not be able to be at his wedding, he said it was ok. But I am not 100% sure if that was really the case. These things hurt, especially for the non-journalistic human folks who many a time have a hard time understanding when we, the news-addicted, once again, have to cancel an appointment, a dinner, a vacation or even an invitation to be best man at a wedding.

PPS: The pictures are a compilation of images I shot covering stories about Che Guevara, both in Cuba and in Bolivia.