Becoming Che
Guevara's second and final trip through Latin America
Carlos "Calica" Ferrer
On July 7, 1953, Ernesto Guevara, 25-year-old, took a train from Retiro Station in Buenos Aires to set out on what would be his final, decisive trip through Latin America. His travel companion and childhood friend, Carlos “Calica” Ferrer, recounts for the first time the adventures and experiences of those defining months that led the young Ernesto’s transformation into Comandante Che Guevara.
As in his first trip with Alberto Granado, this second journey was an encounter with the roots of indigenous America, with the incipient people’s movements and all the beauty and suffering of a continent oppressed for centuries.
“The name of the sidekick has changed from Alberto to Calica, but the trip is the same: two free-spirits spanning out over South America without knowing exactly what they're looking for or which way is north,” wrote Guevara in his travel diary. The two friends explore Bolivia, Perú and Ecuador, alternating their enthusiasm for travel and youthful antics with revealing discoveries about the social and political reality in Latin America, in the end turning the trip into a profound journey of self-discovery that would change them forever.
The book presents previously unpublished photos from Calica’s personal album that portray the childhood and youth of the two friends in the town of Alta Gracia in the Province of Córdoba, Argentina, as well as their trip together.
Alberto Granado, friend of both Ernesto and Calica, prologues the book and finishes with these words: “Thank you, Calica, for having brought this breath of fresh air and showing us our friend just as he was, is and always will be: a man of flesh and blood.”
Galería
El autor
Carlos "Calica" Ferrer
Carlos “Calica” Ferrer Zorrilla nació en Alta Gracia, Córdoba, en 1929. A los cuatro años conoció a Ernesto Guevara de la Serna, un chico asmático que se instaló con su familia en esa localidad serrana a buscar un alivio para su mal. Con los años, ese chico se convertiría en el Che Guevara, uno de los símbolos más importantes del último siglo. Ernesto y Calica mantuvieron una amistad íntima durante la infancia y la adolescencia. En 1953 emprendieron juntos un viaje aventurero por Latinoamérica, al final del cual, Guevara terminaría convertido en el Comandante Ernesto Che Guevara.
Calica escribió sus memorias sobre su amistad con Ernesto en el libro De Ernesto al Che (Marea, 2005), que después se tradujo a 15 lenguas, algunas tan raras como el bahasa. Viajó por el mundo presentando las distintas ediciones del libro y hablando sobre su amigo. También conoció a muchas personas que admiraban y querían al Che como Fidel Castro, Evo Morales y Diego Armando Maradona.