The Che Guevara memorial in Santa Clara

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Santa Clara, Cuba - Ernesto Guevara de la Serna, commonly known as Che Guevara or el Che, was an Argentine-born Marxist revolutionary, political figure, and leader of Cuban and internationalist guerrillas. Guevara joined Fidel Castro's paramilitary 26th of July Movement, which seized power in Cuba in 1959. After serving in various important posts in the new government and writing a number of articles and books on the theory and practice of guerrilla warfare, Guevara left Cuba in 1965 with the intention of fomenting revolutions first in Congo-Kinshasa, and then in Bolivia, where he was captured in a CIA/ U.S. Army Special Forces-organized military operation. Guevara was summarily executed by the Bolivian Army in La Higuera near Vallegrande on October 9, 1967.

Santa Clara is home to the memorial which houses the remains of Che Guevara and sixteen of his fellow combatants killed in 1967 during the Bolivia campaign. He was laid to rest with full military honors on 17 October 1997 after his exhumed remains were returned to Cuba from Bolivia. At the site, there is a museum dedicated to Guevara's life. There is also a reconstruction of Guevara derailing the train during the Battle of Santa Clara.