Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Using data from a sample of Spanish respondents interviewed between 1991 and 1993, we explore the collective sources of remembrance of famous historical figures from Latin American history and popular culture, and in particular the social correlates of the memory of Che Guevara. We draw on research on the generational location of collective memory, changing generational values, the status basis of patterns of culture consumption and the spatial and identity-based sources of remembrance in order to attempt to get at the social and cultural meaning of the memory of what has become a world-wide symbol for a variety political causes and ideals. The results show that the collective remembrance of famous historical figures is indeed patterned by generational location. Furthermore in the case of Che Guevara, the generational effects are consistent with his having become a more salient mnemonic object for those who have seen him rise to prominence as a collective symbol and not a biographical individual, since he is more likely to be remembered by the more recently born cohorts. However, even within this cohort, social cleavages related to education, politics, values and regional identity serve to structure his memory, suggesting that the memory of Che Guevara (at least as late as the early post-cold war period), rather than having become increasingly massified by its relation to consumer culture, continued to be a purview of a relatively delimited social stratum.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Integrating objective and constructionist approaches to collective memory, this paper takes the first step in developing sociological approach to martyrdom through an examination of the case of Che Guevara. The construction and maintenance of individuals as martyrs is most often and most successfully done through the actions of powerful and resourceful states and institutions. The efforts of Cuba to control the facts of Guevara’s life and the efforts of Bolivia to hide his body illustrate tactics institutions and states use in the attempt to control the reputation of martyrs. The lack of control Cuba holds over the use of the famous photo of Guevara shows that in the increasingly globalized market and media, this manipulation and control is increasingly difficult, introducing questions of what martyrdom means and how it operates in contemporary society.