Cubanow.- In December 1929, the couple travelled to Buenos Aires. Celia was about to give birth to a baby, which she delivered the 30 th of that month: a girl, named after her mother. This time, there was nothing to hide.

THE ASTHMA APPEARS

In 1930, due to business problems in the shipyard of which Don Ernesto was co-proprietor, they moved to San Isidro, a town with very old houses and European architecture on the riverside of La Plata River. They resided in Alem Street.

On the morning of May 2 nd, Celia went with her child to the beach at the Nautical Club. She swam with him on her back, then they played on the river bank. She left him on the shore and returned to the water.

Suddenly, the weather changed and it got quite cold. Celia wrapped the shivering boy in towels. When they got home, he was not feeling well. Hoping that it would pass without complications, they did not see a doctor until later that night, when the child was coughing constantly and seemed truly ill.

DON ERNESTO: "I called Dr. Pestaña, who did not seem to give too much importance to the illness. He diagnosed asthmatic bronchitis with no other complications and related this attack to an old pneumonia caught by Ernesto in Rosario. Perhaps the cold had, two years later, unleashed the attack. Maybe he had a congenital tendency for that illness, from which Celia had suffered in her childhood."

Many texts about their life mention that Ernesto’s asthma was the result of that day in the river and some sources say that the father reprimanded his wife for being careless and irresponsible. Other sources, however, said that Don Ernesto used to make the boy take sun in his diapers in the middle of winter and bathed him with ice-cold water, alleging the child’s lungs would be strengthened. According to these versions, it was the mother who accused the father of being negligent and irresponsible.

The truth is that, in all of this, there is probably a good dose of distortion, if not of slander.

ANA MARIA: "It is possible that the asthma manifested itself in my brother through the cold in the San Isidro club, but it could equally have been at any other moment, because his bronchial illness was hereditary, since my mother suffered from asthma and all her children, in varying degrees, have also suffered from asthma. Even mine."

After his first attack, his crises became more frequent, a sign that the illness had become chronic. The best specialists treated the boy. After meticulous check-ups, X-rays and different analysis, they concluded he had acute and persevering asthmatic bronchitis.

Going back to Caraguatay was not possible. Instead, they returned to the capital, and resided in Bustamante 1286. Although far away, Don Ernesto kept on taking care of his grove. On May 18 th, 1931 his third son, Roberto, was born.

In Buenos Aires, Ernestito now played with his sister, his cousins and little friends. He visited the family ranch houses, where the delta of the Parana and Uruguay rivers ran. These activities made Ernestito and the other children happy, but the asthma persisted and the many medicines and different doctors were not able to control the illness. All this, together with the constant vigils of his parents and relatives, transformed the Guevara de la Serna family’s way of life. The worst part was that the attacks were unforeseeable.

MRS. CELIA: "At the age of four, Ernestito could no longer bear the weather of the capital. The father got used to sleeping sitting at his first-born's side, so that he, resting on his chest, could take the asthma better."

CORDOBA, 1932: The Guevara de la Serna family stayed in that city’s colonial Hotel Plaza. For the overwhelmed couple, it was a great relief that Ernestito had overcome a strong attack during the trip. Carmen, the Galician woman, and Negrina, the little dog, travelled with them.

Some days later, Don Ernesto bought a 1926 racing car. Nobody ever knew who named it Catramina, nor the meaning of that word.

Alta Gracia, 1933: They rented a house in the city hoping the boy would get cured by remaining in Cordoba. Thinking that the illness had, at last, disappeared, they returned to Buenos Aires, but it appeared again and even worse. They returned to Cordoba and lived in the town of Agüello. But Ernestito’s crises came again and again.

Doctor Fernando Peña, who lived in Alta Gracia, talked to them about the place’s wonderful weather for lung and breathing conditions.

In a few days, Ernestito’s health improved considerably, so again their hopes were raised. They lived there for three and a half years, and the three children really enjoyed it. Every morning, Carmen took them to play on the banks of the stream or for long rides on small donkeys, guided by their father or mother. One time, they took so long that their father went to look for them, thinking that they were lost.

In spite of her husband's protests for that incident, the mother kept on taking the children on those rides, convinced that they were good for Ernestito’s health. But, he was not completely cured, so they stayed longer in Alta Gracia. Consequently, searching for spaciousness, economy, and at the same time avoiding contact with other possibly ill people, they decided to leave the hotel.

VILLA CHICHITA: In the outskirts of Alta Gracia, they rented a two-story house in Avellaneda 401, uptown, between the lower slopes and the dense mountain vegetation. But, while the nearby mountain air certainly improved the child’s health, the asthma did not abandon him, appearing from time in time, unexpectedly.

The parents were convinced that their stay there would have to be a long one. They had become true asthma "specialists," experimenting against it with each and every recommended medicine, homemade remedy, doctor and even faith healers. Convinced that their son would have to live with the ailment, they struggled to avoid that their child be disabled or even have a fatal outcome or any other sequels.

Ernestito rejected the feeling of pity and tried to prove that he could do the same things healthy boys could, and sometimes much more so. In the long run, this would be a decisive factor to forge his personality and strong will.

When they decided to stay in Alta Gracia, Don Ernesto opened a small construction business, but kept on travelling to supervise his other businesses. There, Ernestito lived through his most difficult period (4 to 6 years of age), when his asthma crises became more severe. Probably, had they not lived there, the consequences would have been fatal. Nevertheless, the child enjoyed life as any other boy would, sheltered within a united, loving family, which was financially comfortable.

The time came to attend school and begin learning, but since Ernestito’s illness did not allow it, his mother taught him his first letters. His earliest known notes were written to his to Aunt Beatriz. On January 28 th, 1934 Ana Maria was born, the fourth child of the Guevara de la Sernas.

CALICA FERRER: "I knew Ernesto since they moved to Alta Gracia (…) my dad was a lung specialist and physiologist, and he looked after him. A great friendship arose between his parents and mine and of course with the boys."

ANA MARIA: "Mom said the physicians considered that Ernestito could die in one of his attacks. Because of that, believing the physicians, everyone expressed a feeling of pity and overprotection toward him. On the other hand, the doctors said the boy should not leave the house for any reason, but the family members put an end to his confinement and allowed him to do everything he wanted, so as to allow him to enjoy life while he could. Also, the boy wanted to prove that he could do the same things, or even more, that his friends did."

Car trips were of real excitement for the kids. They visited places in Alta Gracia and Cordoba and travelled along the hills. They bathed in streams, rode bicycles, horses and donkeys. Happiness, of course, was sometimes altered by some bad moments.

In 1935, the family moved to Villa Nydia. Don Ernesto wrote: "More than a home, in the afternoons, it looked like a real children’s club." (...)

Several animals lived in the Guevara de la Serna house. The kids and their friends enjoyed the tiny zoo. At night, they were delighted by their father’s, or mother’s readings. In their imagination, the musketeers, sword in hand, appeared defeating the bad guys; or, Robinson Crusoe, conquering a beautiful island. The love for books struck Ernestito quite soon.

SUMMER OF 1936: They spent their summer holidays in Mar del Plata. The asthma became conspicuous for its absence, which made them move to that beach resort. But then, Ernestito’s asthma reappeared. Once, at the ranch of his grandmother (on his father’s side), when two of Ernestito’s cousins were punching him hard in one of their many fights, he almost ripped off one of their ears with his teeth.

They also enjoyed vacations and weekends in the Sierra Hotel, with sports and recreation facilities. Ernestito always took the opportunity to carry out outdoor activities, because although the main reason for living near the mountains was his illness, every day he felt more attracted to the region’s vast uneven land. Climbing the stony hills, the dry and round crests, enjoying the sun and looking down at the valleys of exuberant greens, was something that truly excited him.

Roberto said: "Ernesto swam very well. For as long as I can remember, he knew how to play chess and soccer. Some of our friends were golf caddies and, so, he learned to play with them."

His childhood friends remember him as a cheerful boy, participating in each and every game. In Argentina, the neighborhood youth gangs are called "barras." Ernestito was the leader of the one in his neighbourhood, which meant he had to fistfight on several occasions. He never avoided those encounters, regardless of the size of the opponents, or whether he won or lost.

Many times he faced an aggressive goat which impeded him from crossing over a pasture. He was always ready to head any activity no matter how dangerous it might be. His brother said: "In spite of his asthma, Ernesto's fights were famous, even though he was not well physically."

"As a boy, he never tolerated that something he considered unjust be imposed on him, nor being questioned without reason. When he was incensed, he would become angry and cry; and there was no way of calming him down. He would nod his head and keep on insisting that he was right. When he became older, although he was able to direct and to repress his impulses, his indignation for what he considered unjust became stronger. He got into many quarrels for defending his position at all costs."

The asthmatic boy went on proving to those who expressed pity that he was a boy with no physical limitations; on the contrary, he mostly proved to be even better than the rest.

(Cubanow) November , 2005

Cubanow.- In those years, Aunt Carmen de la Serna, her husband Gayetano Cordoba de Iturburo (Policho), journalist and writer, and their children, Fernando and Carmen, who was called “Negrita”, moved to Alta Gracia.

When the 1936 Spanish War broke out, the Committee of Assistance to the Spanish Republic, where the Guevara de la Serna arduously worked, was created. In the winter of 1937, they lived in the chalet in Fuente. They made excursions with the parents, the children, plus the pretty cousin “Negrita”, to an area called Achala in the capital of the province. There, they enjoyed the snow.

But Ernestito did not only dedicate his spare time to games, excursions, mountains or fights among the "barras" (kid gangs). His mother would be his tutor on his road to literature, which turned him into an avid reader, since he was a little boy.

Besides his early letters, she would also teach him French. His father wrote down: "Celia, with holy patience, every day, without failing, imparted him his daily school lesson, and thus that love and companionship between mother and son was growing."

It becomes evident that Celia was Ernestito´s guide in every sense; between both of them a mutual understanding was being created. There is no doubt that it was he who inherited her most excellent features, her special personality, her vocation for arts, her disposition to face danger as if it were the most ordinary thing.

"He had a particular character. It was not precisely irresponsibility, but rather that danger appealed to him. He had a good time overcoming any difficulty which demanded an effort", Don Ernesto wrote.

Celia, ignoring all social conventions of the time, carried out her treatment in a relationship of "same to same, with hints from both sides, but the great affection which bonds them was always evident. Ernesto did not have secrets for his mother who was always his confidant, and to Celia, every time she had to do something important in her life Ernesto was who advised her," Ana Maria told us.

"In his character, my mother's great influence was present. She gave him a lot of willpower," Roberto said and Ana Maria added: "With mom, he was quite tender, always thinking of her, protected by him, he joked and he was a very tender man, perhaps not always showing it, but indeed, feeling it."

When asthma forced him to stay for long periods at home, he knew how to benefit from that by reading. It was frequent that at nights he would stay buried in a book until late hours. Classic adventures were his early readings: Jules Verne, Mark Twain, Salgari, Dumas, Stevenson, Jack London. The parents kept on narrating to the children the grandparent’s life, in episodes, during meals and at nightly family meetings.

Then, they lived in the house of Genout and the mother believed he could attend school; she had received a note from the municipality of education claiming that her son, Ernesto, had turned 7 and was not registered in any school. Celia commented: "Regularly, he would only study 2 nd and 3 rd; 5 th and 6 th grades. He studied them going to school as he could. His siblings would copy the homework and he studied at home."

However, according to teacher Elba Rossi and to the report card kept by Ernestito, he began attending school in 3 rd grade, and not in 2 nd. And Ana Maria remembered: "In 1937, Ernesto entered the San Martin School in 2 nd grade, and he studied up to 4 th, which he did not finish there but in the Manuel Solare School. Why? Well, he was very rebellious and he enjoyed making pranks. He climbed trees and on the roof and was scolded and punished. But he repeated these things until he was finally expelled from school. Then, mom had to go there, and he was once again accepted."

"But once he made a bet and climbed to a window on a second or third floor, he was held by his feet, his body hanging down and he shouted: I am a flying bird. Everybody was in the schoolyard, the children laughing and the teachers horrified. The school principal decided it would be his last deed there and he was definitively expelled.

"Then he registered in Manuel Solare School or in Santiago Lines School, he finished 4 th, 5 th and 6 th grades. But he kept at it again and dad's threat was that he would enrol him in a religious school and he calmed down for some time."

We have to acknowledge that the Ernestito´s mischief also bore fruits. Since the electric company refused to cut its service rate, the neighbors agreed to turn on a minimum lights, but the company was not affected at all by this measure. Then his "barra", headed by him, began to break light bulbs. Replacing them was to the Electric Trust more expensive than discounting its rate, so they put the discounts into effect.

Since the time when they were very small, the mother liked to disguise her children and also to disguise herself. Celia delighted in making the more dissimilar costumes in the parties. Sometimes, Ernestito was dressed up as an Indian, others as a gaucho, a marquis, as Martin Fierro, etc. He also took part in school parties.

In 1939, when traveling by train with his sister Celia. The mother forgot to give them money and, because they were hungry they decided to have dinner. When they had to pay, Ernestito alleged that the Constitution protects all hungry people, as long as they request neither coffee nor alcoholic beverages. Although the inspectors were very amused, they kept his suitcases until they arrived in Buenos Aires, where the father, who was waiting for him, paid the bill. But, when he learned of his son's behavior, he could not avoid feeling a certain pride.

When the Spanish War was over in 1939, with the Fascist victory, many émigré travelled to Argentina and some would reside in Alta Gracia, among them the physician Juan Gonzalez Aguilar, former sanitary chief of the Republican troops, the poet Rafael Alberti and the musician Manuel de Falla. The Guevara de la Serna family established friendship ties with them.

In 1939, World War II began. Organizations to counteract infiltration, or the work of Nazi-Fascist spies were created all over America. One of them, Accion Argentina, had its headquarters in Alta Gracia, and the Guevara de la Sernas were part of it. Although Don Ernesto affirmed that his elder son joined this organization, Ana Maria told us that it was not true; other researches restated it.

Again he would be following the development of the bloody war on the map and, together with his siblings, gathering all disposable materials which could be useful to the allied troops.

In 1939 the Chess Olympics were held in Buenos Aires and the world champion, the Cuban Jose Raul Capablanca, participated in it, and according to the young Ernesto, thanks to his visit, he learned more about Cuba.

Alta Gracia, 1940

The country vacations were alternated between Villa Sarmiento and Santa Ana de Ireneo. Ernestito dressed gaucho style, high leather boots, hat and handkerchief around his neck, beside the peons, learning all the tasks carried out by them. He travelled the broad pampas with his father, uncles and cousins, and enjoyed the roasted calves and the good wine among the peons. On occasions, he visited the boliches (pubs) and, with a glass of wine, he listened to the jukeboxes with music from those times, or to some melancholic gaucho, guitar in hand.

MARIO HEGUIN: "Ernesto was different from the rest of Doña Ana’s grandsons, who had to be addressed as “Usted” (“You”, respectfully); he was a boy just like us who were peons of the farm."

In the farm, Ernestito was the elder grandson of the lady-owner, a sociable boy who did not mind rubbing shoulders and sharing with the workers and their children. Despite all those daily experiences, in those years, he was not able to identify the Martin Fierro from the Argentinean pampas among those peons, because he only watched the outer part of their lives. Nevertheless, this was how he knew the way of life of the man of the fields and his hard tasks, and the misery of his friends in Alta Gracia, but in both cases he did not live it, he did not suffer it. However, there was still a lot for him to see and to live and to decide which would be his true destination.

Then, at the age of 12, the first-born's tenacity and willpower had increased. After losing the table tennis championship held yearly in the Sierra Hotel, he asked his father to build him a table to practice with perseverance during the 2 or 3 previous months to the next championship. As a result, he won the title that year.

The same way he showed tenacity to get something, he also displayed recklessness in the face of dangerous actions. Among the boulders surrounding the Cascada de los Tres Paredones, there is one 5 meters high, used as a springboard by the most daring. The jump is dangerous because of the narrow valley in which the swimmer should dive. Any mistake would cause the diver to break his neck.

Ernesto liked this jump. He joined his feet, raised his arms, remained still, contracted his muscles, waited a few seconds, and jumped into the hole. Many of those present, elder people, youngsters and boys covered their eyes. Others watched nervously. Seconds later, when the boy’s head popped out of the restless waters, the applauses and the victory exclamations resounded.

Somebody asked his parents why they allowed their son such daring madness. The smiling father replied: "do you think we have not tried to persuade him? But, by the time we find out about it, he has already performed I don't know how many jumps. Because he watches others do it and then says he too can do it. Yes, my friend... Ernestito is too much Ernestito!"

With similar words and affirmative expressions, Celia reaffirmed what her husband said. The many times she proved herself by rushing to an enraged sea, or in the turbulent waters of the Parana River, where she was about to lose her life, probably came to her mind. She had no doubt at all that her son’s boldness came from her, and deep inside she felt proud.

(Cubanow) December , 2005

"We grew up in the fresh air of the countryside", recounted Calica Ferrer, "Ernesto was a sportsman in spite of his asthma. Once, when our father was training us for a 100 meter swimming competition, Ernesto had an asthma attack and had to stop, but he afterwards continued and finished the distance".

He also spent hours riding the motorcycle his father had given he and his brother.

In 1941, they lived in the Fortes chalet. On vacation, Ernesto and Roberto harvested grapes to earn some extra cash. Ana Maria told us that the work was for a week and that his mother had given permission. However, they had to return home early, as his asthma was bad. (At that time, he attended an act of solidarity with those who were fighting Nazi fascism).

After finishing first grade in 1942, Ernesto traveled to Cordoba with his father to register in the Dean Funes National School and Lycée where he took his high school degree. He had lost two years because of his asthma and had to travel 36 kilometers by bus or train through beautiful countryside.

From the outset he was noticed for his knowledge and his fearless, aggressive manner in sports in spite of having a certificate excusing him from participating. He was called "Baldy" because of his shaved head – a name that didn't bother him. However, he was not able to spend much time with his classmates as at the end of classes he had to return to Alta Gracia.

There he befriended Tomá Granados, but it wasn't until the second year in 1943 that they found themselves in the same group. Once, during football, Ernesto suffered an asthma attack and his friends Tomás, Rigatuso and Afelbaun helped him to the bus stop. They had never known of his condition.

In 1943 the Guevara de la Serna parents moved the family to Córdoba for their daughter Celia to begin high school. They lived on Calle Chile #288. "Baldy" practiced football and basketball and Tomás invited him to become part of the Teacher's Training School team, where he played an unofficial game with his brothers Gregorio and Alberto.

Gregorio: "Ernesto played a lot of football and was a good defender with a great deal of speed and skill. Perhaps he lacked a little offensive technique in dribbling around adversaries, but he made up for this with his speed, decision-making and courage. He was good at various football positions, from the forward to the wing, but was best as a defender than in the offensive, and especially good at heading the ball … He later excelled at rugby and also loved swimming, as well as competing with me in chess".

Although the family business was not doing so well, the Guevaras maintained their life-style. They joined the Córdoba Lawn Tennis Club where they enjoyed the swimming pool and other sports facilities. Although the young Ernesto was not a very good dancer, he attended parties in Alto Garcia. Experiencing difficulties in drawing, he took a correspondence course from a Buenos Aires school, studying through class #126 and receiving congratulations on his level of advancement.

After 15 years of marriage, the love between Ernesto (father) and Celia (mother) was complete in spite of the illness of their eldest child, their differences over raising their children, the way to run the business, and the flirting of the father – although not taken too seriously by the mother. However, with time these flirtations took on another character involving arguments, but never to the level of breaking up.

From these marital arguments - quite normal between people with strong characters and beliefs – Che's detractors have invented the version involving pitched battles between his parents, painting them as fierce opponents to convivial living and providing a Freudian reason for Ernesto's later vocation for fighting back.

Ana Maria: "Father loved Mother very much and she was very much in love with him. Nevertheless, my father was very jealous but my mother wasn't in spite of him being somewhat of a womanizer. For her he was the only man of her life. Father was very explosive, but they loved each other very much. They had constant arguments – sometimes very heated – but there was never the slightest aggression by one against the other. It makes me laugh to read what has been written about those arguments".

However, in Códoba the elder Ernesto was spending more time out at night and frequently taking "business" trips to the capital. Their love began to wane and Celia became less willing to let things pass. It was the beginning of their first real marital crisis.

On May 1st, 1943, the last of their children, Juan Martin, was born. For the younger Ernesto it was as if he had his first son as he was to be 15 in 44 days. On June 4th a military coup d'état took place against the government of Ramón Castillo. A Nazi dictatorship struck terror into the hearts of the people.

Tomás: "When the coup took place our history teacher told us that the military would provide the entire country with an education, at which Ernesto began to laugh. When the teacher asked him what he was laughing at he responded: 'The military aren't going to do that because when the people are educated they will reject them'. He was kicked out of the classroom. We all admired him because to say such things was a risk. Two groups formed in the school – one that sympathized with the military and the other not – Ernesto and were two who did not. In spite of the fact that Ernesto argued with the teachers and refused to be quiet, they liked him very much because he was always respectful¨.

When he turned 15 on June 14th, 1943, his fathers and siblings began to call him Ernesto (instead of the Spanish diminutive, Ernestito). His friendship with Tomás meant that he often went to his house on Calle Roma #535 opposite the Italian Hospital, where he was treated like another son by Dionisio Timoteo Granado and Adelina Jiménez. He became close to his friend's two brothers, Alberto (the eldest, who was also called Alber or Mial, and became a biologist) and Gregorio (or Grego) who studied teaching. The three liked sports and nature.

They were also fond of chess – with Ernesto the second best of the three. From his arrival in Córdoba, the young Ernesto participated in chess tournaments about which Gregorio commented: "Ernesto had better theoretical knowledge than me. Nonetheless, we played good games with many draws – he was better with his knights and I with my bishops".

During one of his visits to his friends, Ernesto asked Mial to teach him to play rugby. The latter felt that given his physical limitations, his size and the fact that he was thin, that he wouldn't make the grade. Alberto placed two chairs across from each other and put a broom handle across them saying: "Look, if you can jump the pole and fall on your shoulder you might be able to play rugby. I warn you that it will be a heavy fall".

Without thinking twice, he ran, jumped and fell without hurting himself. Then, before the astonishment of those present, he did it again and again with the same result. Alberto recounts that he went through this test because rugby was popular in Códoba and many wanted to learn the game, but after receiving two or three knocks would quit. At first they played more rugby than football and the nickname "Baldy" was soon changed to "Fuser" taken from the first syllables of "furious" and "Serna" because everyone called him Furious Guevara Serna for his tenacity and lack of fear on the field.

In spite of all the time spent with so many activities, he always had time for his little brother who he filled with happiness.

On September 21 – National Student's Day – pupils from different schools took up a collection to do something they most enjoyed. A great number from Dean Funes school went to the countryside. In one of these excursions, Ernesto, who liked acting up, noticed that one pupil had drunk more beer than he should and was sleeping under a tree. "Baldy" took a stick dipped in cow dung and gently wiped it over the mustache of the sleeping boy. When the boy woke up he exclaimed "What a stink! Where's it coming from? It smells so close!" Everyone roared with laughter, his schoolmate Gómez Faría told us.

In spite of the fact that doctors recommended that he not physically exert himself because his heart could be affected, the boy took no notice. When he sought to be a butterfly-stroke swimmer he spent long hours in the swimming pool of the Sierra Hotel training under a well-known instructor.

"We grew up in the fresh air of the countryside", recounted Calica Ferrer, "Ernesto was a sportsman in spite of his asthma. Once, when our father was training us for a 100 meter swimming competition, Ernesto had an asthma attack and had to stop, but he afterwards continued and finished the distance".

He also spent hours riding the motorcycle his father had given he and his brother.

In 1941, they lived in the Fortes chalet. On vacation, Ernesto and Roberto harvested grapes to earn some extra cash. Ana Maria told us that the work was for a week and that his mother had given permission. However, they had to return home early, as his asthma was bad. (At that time, he attended an act of solidarity with those who were fighting Nazi fascism).

After finishing first grade in 1942, Ernesto traveled to Cordoba with his father to register in the Dean Funes National School and Lycée where he took his high school degree. He had lost two years because of his asthma and had to travel 36 kilometers by bus or train through beautiful countryside.

From the outset he was noticed for his knowledge and his fearless, aggressive manner in sports in spite of having a certificate excusing him from participating. He was called "Baldy" because of his shaved head – a name that didn't bother him. However, he was not able to spend much time with his classmates as at the end of classes he had to return to Alta Gracia.

There he befriended Tomá Granados, but it wasn't until the second year in 1943 that they found themselves in the same group. Once, during football, Ernesto suffered an asthma attack and his friends Tomás, Rigatuso and Afelbaun helped him to the bus stop. They had never known of his condition.

In 1943 the Guevara de la Serna parents moved the family to Córdoba for their daughter Celia to begin high school. They lived on Calle Chile #288. "Baldy" practiced football and basketball and Tomás invited him to become part of the Teacher's Training School team, where he played an unofficial game with his brothers Gregorio and Alberto.

Gregorio: "Ernesto played a lot of football and was a good defender with a great deal of speed and skill. Perhaps he lacked a little offensive technique in dribbling around adversaries, but he made up for this with his speed, decision-making and courage. He was good at various football positions, from the forward to the wing, but was best as a defender than in the offensive, and especially good at heading the ball … He later excelled at rugby and also loved swimming, as well as competing with me in chess".

Although the family business was not doing so well, the Guevaras maintained their life-style. They joined the Córdoba Lawn Tennis Club where they enjoyed the swimming pool and other sports facilities. Although the young Ernesto was not a very good dancer, he attended parties in Alto Garcia. Experiencing difficulties in drawing, he took a correspondence course from a Buenos Aires school, studying through class #126 and receiving congratulations on his level of advancement.

After 15 years of marriage, the love between Ernesto (father) and Celia (mother) was complete in spite of the illness of their eldest child, their differences over raising their children, the way to run the business, and the flirting of the father – although not taken too seriously by the mother. However, with time these flirtations took on another character involving arguments, but never to the level of breaking up.

From these marital arguments - quite normal between people with strong characters and beliefs – Che's detractors have invented the version involving pitched battles between his parents, painting them as fierce opponents to convivial living and providing a Freudian reason for Ernesto's later vocation for fighting back.

Ana Maria: "Father loved Mother very much and she was very much in love with him. Nevertheless, my father was very jealous but my mother wasn't in spite of him being somewhat of a womanizer. For her he was the only man of her life. Father was very explosive, but they loved each other very much. They had constant arguments – sometimes very heated – but there was never the slightest aggression by one against the other. It makes me laugh to read what has been written about those arguments".

However, in Códoba the elder Ernesto was spending more time out at night and frequently taking "business" trips to the capital. Their love began to wane and Celia became less willing to let things pass. It was the beginning of their first real marital crisis.

On May 1st, 1943, the last of their children, Juan Martin, was born. For the younger Ernesto it was as if he had his first son as he was to be 15 in 44 days. On June 4th a military coup d'état took place against the government of Ramón Castillo. A Nazi dictatorship struck terror into the hearts of the people.

Tomás: "When the coup took place our history teacher told us that the military would provide the entire country with an education, at which Ernesto began to laugh. When the teacher asked him what he was laughing at he responded: 'The military aren't going to do that because when the people are educated they will reject them'. He was kicked out of the classroom. We all admired him because to say such things was a risk. Two groups formed in the school – one that sympathized with the military and the other not – Ernesto and were two who did not. In spite of the fact that Ernesto argued with the teachers and refused to be quiet, they liked him very much because he was always respectful¨.

When he turned 15 on June 14th, 1943, his fathers and siblings began to call him Ernesto (instead of the Spanish diminutive, Ernestito). His friendship with Tomás meant that he often went to his house on Calle Roma #535 opposite the Italian Hospital, where he was treated like another son by Dionisio Timoteo Granado and Adelina Jiménez. He became close to his friend's two brothers, Alberto (the eldest, who was also called Alber or Mial, and became a biologist) and Gregorio (or Grego) who studied teaching. The three liked sports and nature.

They were also fond of chess – with Ernesto the second best of the three. From his arrival in Córdoba, the young Ernesto participated in chess tournaments about which Gregorio commented: "Ernesto had better theoretical knowledge than me. Nonetheless, we played good games with many draws – he was better with his knights and I with my bishops".

During one of his visits to his friends, Ernesto asked Mial to teach him to play rugby. The latter felt that given his physical limitations, his size and the fact that he was thin, that he wouldn't make the grade. Alberto placed two chairs across from each other and put a broom handle across them saying: "Look, if you can jump the pole and fall on your shoulder you might be able to play rugby. I warn you that it will be a heavy fall".

Without thinking twice, he ran, jumped and fell without hurting himself. Then, before the astonishment of those present, he did it again and again with the same result. Alberto recounts that he went through this test because rugby was popular in Códoba and many wanted to learn the game, but after receiving two or three knocks would quit. At first they played more rugby than football and the nickname "Baldy" was soon changed to "Fuser" taken from the first syllables of "furious" and "Serna" because everyone called him Furious Guevara Serna for his tenacity and lack of fear on the field.

In spite of all the time spent with so many activities, he always had time for his little brother who he filled with happiness.

On September 21 – National Student's Day – pupils from different schools took up a collection to do something they most enjoyed. A great number from Dean Funes school went to the countryside. In one of these excursions, Ernesto, who liked acting up, noticed that one pupil had drunk more beer than he should and was sleeping under a tree. "Baldy" took a stick dipped in cow dung and gently wiped it over the mustache of the sleeping boy. When the boy woke up he exclaimed "What a stink! Where's it coming from? It smells so close!" Everyone roared with laughter, his schoolmate Gómez Faría told us.

In spite of the fact that doctors recommended that he not physically exert himself because his heart could be affected, the boy took no notice. When he sought to be a butterfly-stroke swimmer he spent long hours in the swimming pool of the Sierra Hotel training under a well-known instructor.

"We grew up in the fresh air of the countryside", recounted Calica Ferrer, "Ernesto was a sportsman in spite of his asthma. Once, when our father was training us for a 100 meter swimming competition, Ernesto had an asthma attack and had to stop, but he afterwards continued and finished the distance".

He also spent hours riding the motorcycle his father had given he and his brother.

In 1941, they lived in the Fortes chalet. On vacation, Ernesto and Roberto harvested grapes to earn some extra cash. Ana Maria told us that the work was for a week and that his mother had given permission. However, they had to return home early, as his asthma was bad. (At that time, he attended an act of solidarity with those who were fighting Nazi fascism).

After finishing first grade in 1942, Ernesto traveled to Cordoba with his father to register in the Dean Funes National School and Lycée where he took his high school degree. He had lost two years because of his asthma and had to travel 36 kilometers by bus or train through beautiful countryside.

From the outset he was noticed for his knowledge and his fearless, aggressive manner in sports in spite of having a certificate excusing him from participating. He was called "Baldy" because of his shaved head – a name that didn't bother him. However, he was not able to spend much time with his classmates as at the end of classes he had to return to Alta Gracia.

There he befriended Tomá Granados, but it wasn't until the second year in 1943 that they found themselves in the same group. Once, during football, Ernesto suffered an asthma attack and his friends Tomás, Rigatuso and Afelbaun helped him to the bus stop. They had never known of his condition.

In 1943 the Guevara de la Serna parents moved the family to Córdoba for their daughter Celia to begin high school. They lived on Calle Chile #288. "Baldy" practiced football and basketball and Tomás invited him to become part of the Teacher's Training School team, where he played an unofficial game with his brothers Gregorio and Alberto.

Gregorio: "Ernesto played a lot of football and was a good defender with a great deal of speed and skill. Perhaps he lacked a little offensive technique in dribbling around adversaries, but he made up for this with his speed, decision-making and courage. He was good at various football positions, from the forward to the wing, but was best as a defender than in the offensive, and especially good at heading the ball … He later excelled at rugby and also loved swimming, as well as competing with me in chess".

Although the family business was not doing so well, the Guevaras maintained their life-style. They joined the Córdoba Lawn Tennis Club where they enjoyed the swimming pool and other sports facilities. Although the young Ernesto was not a very good dancer, he attended parties in Alto Garcia. Experiencing difficulties in drawing, he took a correspondence course from a Buenos Aires school, studying through class #126 and receiving congratulations on his level of advancement.

After 15 years of marriage, the love between Ernesto (father) and Celia (mother) was complete in spite of the illness of their eldest child, their differences over raising their children, the way to run the business, and the flirting of the father – although not taken too seriously by the mother. However, with time these flirtations took on another character involving arguments, but never to the level of breaking up.

From these marital arguments - quite normal between people with strong characters and beliefs – Che's detractors have invented the version involving pitched battles between his parents, painting them as fierce opponents to convivial living and providing a Freudian reason for Ernesto's later vocation for fighting back.

Ana Maria: "Father loved Mother very much and she was very much in love with him. Nevertheless, my father was very jealous but my mother wasn't in spite of him being somewhat of a womanizer. For her he was the only man of her life. Father was very explosive, but they loved each other very much. They had constant arguments – sometimes very heated – but there was never the slightest aggression by one against the other. It makes me laugh to read what has been written about those arguments".

However, in Códoba the elder Ernesto was spending more time out at night and frequently taking "business" trips to the capital. Their love began to wane and Celia became less willing to let things pass. It was the beginning of their first real marital crisis.

On May 1st, 1943, the last of their children, Juan Martin, was born. For the younger Ernesto it was as if he had his first son as he was to be 15 in 44 days. On June 4th a military coup d'état took place against the government of Ramón Castillo. A Nazi dictatorship struck terror into the hearts of the people.

Tomás: "When the coup took place our history teacher told us that the military would provide the entire country with an education, at which Ernesto began to laugh. When the teacher asked him what he was laughing at he responded: 'The military aren't going to do that because when the people are educated they will reject them'. He was kicked out of the classroom. We all admired him because to say such things was a risk. Two groups formed in the school – one that sympathized with the military and the