Jerry Hoare - Who Was Che Guevara?

Ernesto Guevara was born on June 14, 1928, in the port city of Rosario, Argentina, in the lower half of South America. His parents, Ernesto Guevara Lynch and Celia de la Serna, owned a five-hundred-acre plantation. They grew a type of evergreen treecalled yerba mate (say: YER-bah mah-tay)that is used to make strong tea. The plantation was on the banks of a river in a rain forest, where yerba mate grows best. Ernesto was the oldest child in the Guevara family. But the family grew, and he eventually had two brothers and two sisters.

When Ernesto was two years old, his mother took him swimming in the local river. Soon after their swim, Ernesto started coughing and couldnt stop. He also began to have trouble breathing. His parents took him to the doctor. The doctor said Ernesto had asthmaa lung disease that makes it difficult to breathe and causes coughing and wheezing.

Ernesto was often sick. He had coughing fits and periods when it was hard to breathe. His parents took him to see many doctors to try to help him. One doctor told them the air in the rain forest was too damp and humid for Ernestos little lungs. The doctor suggested that they move to a place with drier air, where it would be easier for Ernesto to breathe. In 1932, the family moved to Alta Gracia, a resort town near a mountain range.

The crisp mountain air helped Ernesto, but it didnt cure him. He still suffered asthma attacks. As a result, Ernesto barely went to school until he was nine years old. Instead, his mother taught him at home. While he was sick, he spent long hours reading in bed. He loved the adventure stories written by Jules Verne.

Ernestos mom and dad let their children run free. When Ernesto was healthy enough to play outside, he climbed tall trees, ran on railroad tracks, and explored abandoned mine tunnels with his brothers and sisters. He wanted to prove he wasnt sick or weak. He wanted to be brave.

Jules Verne was a French science-fiction writer. Science fiction is a type of story that explores ideas like imaginary worlds, time travel, and life on other planets. Some of Vernes most famous books are Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and Around the World in Eighty Days. Many of his most popular stories were later turned into movies.

Ernestos family was friendly with everyone in Alta Graciawealthy families and poorer ones, too. Ernesto played with children of maids and cleaning ladies as easily as he played with the richest kids in town. His mother and father showed Ernesto how to be generous. They always made sure they had enough food at home for any guest to share a meal with them.

Because of his familys openness to bending the rules, Ernestos house usually had plenty of children running around. The kids were all allowed to ride bikes through the front door, around the living room, and then outside into the backyard.