Links in a Chain: El Che in the Work of Freddy Alborta, Carlos Alonso, Arnold Belkin, and Leandro Katz

Abstract

In this text, I analyse some of the affective and political connotations of the reappearance in the twentieth century of iconography around the resurrection of the hero, with a new revolutionary and secular sense. Transiting between the disturbing photograph with which Freddy Alborta captured the last face of Che Guevara, and moving towards some prior images dedicated to the theme of Christian lamentation, and mainly to other works that followed it and were inspired by it – the series La lección de anatomía (The anatomy lesson) (1970) by Carlos Alonso, La muerte del Che (The death of Che) (1973–1975) by Arnold Belkin, and the documentary El día que me quieras (The day you love me) (1997) by Leandro Katz – I analyse here some of the affective and political connotations of the reappearance of the iconography of the hero’s resurrection at different points during the last three decades of the twentieth century, with a new secular and revolutionary meaning.