Stop selling merchandise of the assassin Che Guevara.
Stop selling merchandise of the assassin Che Guevara.
The Issue
On January 7th, 1959, my grandfather, Colonel Cornelio Rojas, a pillar in the Cuban community, was executed on live television. Che Guevara did it as a warning to other Cubans, to show them the fate of those who opposed Castro’s regime. Among the thousands who saw his death by firing squad was my three year-old self and my pregnant mother, Cornelio’s daughter. My mother was so distraught, she went into labor and gave birth to my brother that very day.
The man who murdered my grandfather without a fair trial is now plastered on posters, t-shirts and mugs. His face has become the latest fashion trend, worn by people who have no idea what kind of man he was or the pain he caused. Every time I see it, I feel like I have been kicked in the stomach.
The largest retailer in the world, Walmart, helps perpetuate this by selling more than 50 products that depict his likeness. I want Walmart to stop selling products that portray Che Guevara as a hero, when the truth is far more complicated.
Cornelio was a great father to my mother. He was a military man way before the Castros took over Cuba. He worked hard to advocate for better social services in his community. Even though he was taken from us before I got to really know him, he was always my hero.
When I was 8, my family fled Cuba for the US. My mother stayed behind, and I didn’t see her for 20 years. I grew up without a grandfather and mother because of the reign of terror Castro and Che Guevara inflicted upon my family and our nation. After seeing her father murdered on national TV, my mother was never the same. The Castro regime broke her spirit, and destroyed my family.
And of all the men involved in that bloody regime, only Che’s image continues to haunt me, plastered as it is on walls and thrown on clothing as a fashion statement. I told my mother I would never stop telling our family’s story, and I intend to keep my promise.
Please join me in asking Walmart to stop making a hero out of a war criminal. I don’t want to erase history. I want history, to reflect the truth.
The Issue
On January 7th, 1959, my grandfather, Colonel Cornelio Rojas, a pillar in the Cuban community, was executed on live television. Che Guevara did it as a warning to other Cubans, to show them the fate of those who opposed Castro’s regime. Among the thousands who saw his death by firing squad was my three year-old self and my pregnant mother, Cornelio’s daughter. My mother was so distraught, she went into labor and gave birth to my brother that very day.
The man who murdered my grandfather without a fair trial is now plastered on posters, t-shirts and mugs. His face has become the latest fashion trend, worn by people who have no idea what kind of man he was or the pain he caused. Every time I see it, I feel like I have been kicked in the stomach.
The largest retailer in the world, Walmart, helps perpetuate this by selling more than 50 products that depict his likeness. I want Walmart to stop selling products that portray Che Guevara as a hero, when the truth is far more complicated.
Cornelio was a great father to my mother. He was a military man way before the Castros took over Cuba. He worked hard to advocate for better social services in his community. Even though he was taken from us before I got to really know him, he was always my hero.
When I was 8, my family fled Cuba for the US. My mother stayed behind, and I didn’t see her for 20 years. I grew up without a grandfather and mother because of the reign of terror Castro and Che Guevara inflicted upon my family and our nation. After seeing her father murdered on national TV, my mother was never the same. The Castro regime broke her spirit, and destroyed my family.
And of all the men involved in that bloody regime, only Che’s image continues to haunt me, plastered as it is on walls and thrown on clothing as a fashion statement. I told my mother I would never stop telling our family’s story, and I intend to keep my promise.
Please join me in asking Walmart to stop making a hero out of a war criminal. I don’t want to erase history. I want history, to reflect the truth.
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Petition created on June 30, 2015