Alberto Granado

Alberto Granado (born on August 8, 1922 in Hernando, Córdoba, Argentina) is an Argentine-Cuban doctor, writer, and scientist. He was the travelling companion of Che Guevara during their trip around Latin America, and founder of the Santiago School of Medicine in Cuba. He has written at least one book, "Travelling with Che Guevara: The Making of a Revolutionary". The book also served as reference for the 2004 film, "The Motorcycle Diaries", in which he was played by Rodrigo de la Serna, while Che Guevara was played by Gael Garcia Bernal. An elderly Alberto Granado makes a short appearance at the end of the film.

Early years

Granado was born on August 8, 1922, in Hernando, province of Córboba, Argentina to Dionisio T. Granado (a Spanish clerical employee of an Argentine railway company) and Adelina Jiménez Romero. In 1930, after José Félix Uriburu toppled the nationalist government of Hipólito Irigoyen, Granado’s family relocated to Villa Constitución, province of Santa Fé, due to Dionisio T. Granado's position as a militant trade unionist. In 1931, Granado was sent to live with his grandparents in Córdoba and in 1940, he attended the University of Córdoba, where he studied chemistry and biochemistry.

He met Ernesto “Che” Guevara de la Serna for the first time in 1941 after the latter's family moved to Córdoba. They first met after Granado had been briefly held by the police for his part in a high-school revolt. Che had accompanied Granado’s brother, Tomás, on a visit to the police cells. [David Sandison, "Che Guevara" (St. Martin’s Griffin, 1998).]

In 1943, Granado took part in the political protests against General Juan Perón and was jailed for one year. Between 1947 and 1951, he studied at a clinical laboratory and at the San Franscico del Chañar Leprosarium. Che made a point of visiting Granado at San Francisco de Chañar. [David Sandison, "Che Guevara" (St. Martin’s Griffin, 1998).] Granado earned an MSc in biochemistry and won a scholarship to Instituto Malbrán, in Buenos Aires.

Travels in South America and Europe

Between December 29, 1951 and July 1952, Granado embarked on a tour of South America on his beloved Norton 500cc motorcycle — "Poderosa II" — with Guevara. Both kept diaries. Both men stayed at the leprosarium in San Pablo, Peru. They witnessed first hand the poverty of disenfranchised native peoples and their frequent lack of access to otherwise cheap and basic medical care. These experiences galvanized both men in realizing their future vocations — Guevara towards revolutionary politics and Granado to the pursuit of honest and practical science.

Granado’s journey ended in Caracas, Venezuela, where he remained to work at the Cabo Blanco leprosarium in Maiquetía. Guevara continued on to Miami before returning home to Buenos Aires to complete his medical degree.

In 1955, Granado won a scholarship to the Istituto Superiore di Sanità in Rome; whilst in Europe he visited France, Spain and Switzerland. He married Delia María Duque Duque upon his return.

Career in Cuba

In 1960, he visited Cuba for the first time on Guevara’s invitation. A year later, he moved there with his family to take up a post as professor of biochemistry at the School of Medicine of the University of Havana. Later that year, he was one of the founders of the Institute for Basic and Pre-Clinical Sciences. In 1962, he founded the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Santiago with a group of colleagues, the second in Cuba. Between 1970 and 1974, he served as senior professor there.

Between 1975 and 1986, Granado obtained his doctorate in biological sciences and attended the World Congress on Genetics in Moscow. He also attended the Congress on Polymorphism in Leningrad and became centrally involved in the development of Holstein Tropical cattle breeds. In 1978, he published his account of his and Guevara’s ‘51-’52 tour of South America, named "Con el Che por Sudamerica", in Spanish, Italian and French.

Between 1986 and 1990, he took part in the creation of the Cuban Genetics Society and was appointed its president.

Between 1991 and 1994, he devoted his time to validation and methodology of his previous research in universities in Venezuela and Spain before his retirement in 1994. In 1997, he joined the campaign for solidarity with Cuba and promotion of Guevara’s ideas at home and abroad.

Between 2002 and 2003, he was an on-set advisor to Walter Salles’ "The Motorcycle Diaries", based upon Granado’s "Con el Che por Sudamerica" and Guevara’s own account, published posthumously in 1967. Granado made a cameo appearance as himself in the epilogue of the film. The first English-language edition of Granado’s account was published in 2003, entitled "Travelling with Che Guevara: The Making of a Revolutionary."

On Che

In her film "My Best Friend", producer Clare Lewins asks Granado what he believes to be the reason for Che Guevara's continuing attraction, his response was:

Notes

References

*"The Motorcycle Diaries" (ISBN 1-84413-426-1)
*"Travelling with Che Guevara: The Making of a Revolutionary" (ISBN 1-84413-426-1)

External links

* [http://film.guardian.co.uk/interview/interviewpages/0,6737,1146746,00.html Interview with Alberto for the film "The Motorcycle Diaries"]
* [http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/film/features/story.jsp?story=551846 Interview with Alberto and additional information about his life for "The Motorcycle Diaries"]
* [http://www.best-always.be/alberto-granado.php Alberto Granado's Motorcycle Diaries Timeline]
* [http://www.scribecentral.com/GLENDAVIDSHORT/2004/12/#000539 A Comparative Review of Guevara's, Granado's and Salles' "Motorcycle Diaries"]