But today, 50 years after the death of che guevara, what does he mean in a fast changing cuba . As the communist run island evolves, some see his example as more relevant than ever. Others see a different future ahead. One that breaks with the indoctrination and intolerance of the past. Ive spent the past few years living on this fascinating island at a period of great upheaval, and want to know what el che means today. Its the start of another school day in cubas capital, havana. And the seconds are ticking down to assembly at nicolas estevanez Primary School in the citys vedado district. Its one of countless schools across the island in which the memories and achievements of the countrys independence heroes are marked every day by children in their distinctive uniforms of the socialist pioneers. But there is one revolutionary who has a special place reserved in the education of these cuban children, whose name is repeated in unison every day, and has been for decades. Thats not the first ive seen the Morning Assembly in a cuban school. And its funny because on one level, it reminds you of when you were at school. But, of course, theres something here, something about the declaration towards undying commitment to communism and saying that youre going to be like che guevara that is purely unique to cuba. 50 years after his death, ches image still adorns the corridors of the Primary School, as he does in schools across the country. For the headteacher here, wilder ladron, who exactly was che . Camila granado was a pupil at this school herself before training as a teacher and returning three years ago. Che looked down on her as she studied in these same classrooms. Just as he still does on a generation even further removed from the original. Ernesto guevara was a guerrilla commander, an experienced doctor, a man of the people. And right hand man to fidel castro as he seized power in cuba in 1959. Crucially, unlike some of those in the guerrilla army, che guevara was a committed marxist from the very start of the cuban revolution. And to this day, he remains a colossus in his adopted countrys self image, as a bastion against imperialism and injustice. His last resting place, a beacon for tens of thousands of visitors and pilgrims every year from the world over. Fascinated by a life documented by iconic photographs and projected as the epitome of romance and rebellion. Ernesto guevara was born into middle class buenos aires family and studied to be a doctor. But an adventurous streak saw him travel the continent. Influenced by examples of us intervention in the americas, hejoined a group of exiled cubans led by fidel castro in their bid to remove the military regime in havana. The men under his command began to call guevara che. The argentine slang for friend. Against the odds, after two years of guerrilla warfare in the Sierra Maestra mountains and in the cities, the bearded revolutionaries were victorious and took power in cuba. Ches supporters saw in him the embodiment of the so called new man in socialism, the very driving force of the revolution. But to his opponents, he was ruthless and brutal. Che might have settled down. But instead, he took the revolutionary struggle abroad. Entering countries in disguise. Who would have guessed that this smart businessman is in fact che guevara, preparing to reach congo to launch a guerrilla campaign. But ches enemies finally caught up with him and in 1967 the revolutionary icon was killed, fermenting rebellion against the us backed militaryjunta in bolivia. Terrorist to some, the image of christ like martyrdom to others. Only five made it back from bolivia. And his fallen comrades are buried alongside him in this tomb in the town of santa clara. Luis monteagudo fought with che in cuba and again during the revolutionary war in congo. Still, today, hes under the spell of his comandante, che. What do you feel when you see your friend here . Che was not alone in giving his life to international revolution. More than 2,000 cubans died fighting in conflicts around the world. And those who survived still revere him. What was che like as a leader and as a friend . If a young person from europe, from the United States or from africa was to come to you when they were visiting this space and say, well, what has the revolution achieved, what did it do . What would you say to them . But cutting dependency on the us came with repercussions. An economic embargo was imposed, which, together with a planned socialist style economy, has left enduring scars. In the country, empty roads cut through swathes of underdeveloped agriculture. While in havana, many homes are crumbling after years of underinvestment. The classic 1950s and soviet era cars arent only iconic, they are a symbol of an island economically trapped in the past. But today, cuba is beginning to change. Not least in its fractious relationship with washington. I have come here to bury the last remnant of the cold war in the americas. Applause. Recently, President Trump has begun to roll back on that policy. However, the most obvious benefit of the new relations, a boost to tourism, so far seems unaffected. Ironically, much of the tourism features the great marxist revolutionary himself. Central to the islands brand, on every street corner, on every t shirt. Its an irony that doesnt worry some, though. Among them, ches son. Who, as well as his distinctive features, also shares his fathers first name, ernesto. Along with an argentinian investor, the Ernesto Guevara runs a motorbike tour Company Named after ches famous bike of the motorcycle diaries, la poderosa, on which he toured north america in the 1950s. Does his son sense the irony of building a capitalist enterprise on the life story of a marxist icon . With so many new tourists to the island, business is booming for la poderosa, and ernesto is a busy man. Ernesto rarely talks to the media, but has invited me to ride with him to experience havana by motorbike. In its 3 year existence, la poderosa has taken advantage of new laws allowing private enterprise in cuba. Previously, most private businesses were banned. Today, la poderosa is gathering pace. Its close to paying back the initial Foreign Investment and operates a small fleet of the few Harley Davidsons available on the island. On our tour, wed arrived at a place of particular relevance to the story of el che la cabana fortress. But la cabana is synonymous with another part of ches history. Over his six months in charge here, dozens of men and women received summary trials and were sent to the firing squad. The decades have come and gone. So have the us president s. But 50 years after ches death, his portrait still assumes place of honour at the nations annual demonstrations. The late fidel castro stood at this podium for countless marches in his signature fatigues and peaked cap. Today, his younger brother, raul, presides over proceedings. But with raul announcing he will step down early next year, it is perhaps as important as ever to demonstrate stability will reign on after the castros in cuba. This is the image that the cuban government want to project of cuban youth. Loyal, dedicated and faithful. Young people turning out to pay homage to the socialist project. This boy has been participating in the event since he was small. And hes clearly a committed revolutionary. Many dont share his passion, though. In santa clara, beneath the mausoleum of che guevara itself, lies a poor neighbourhood known simply as the hole. The residents never had permission to build their wooden shacks and breeze block homes, so arent legally recognised by the state. And with no formal address, the community cant receive basic services. Gladys was born in this neighbourhood and has lived in it her entire life. But despite their proximity to one of the revolutions heroes, she says theyve been ignored by the government for decades. The well worn strains of the song that immortalises che guevara, sung by the cuban bard silvio rodriguez. Considered one of the revolutions most emblematic voices. The song is known off by heart by millions of cubans and encapsulates how the cuban state would like people to remember El Comandante che. But that vision isnt shared by the singers son, silvito el libre. His reality is very different. Silvitos the cuba you dont know takes a hard look at the island, raising the kind of issues that the authorities prefer to keep under wraps. Violence, social decay and police control. Despite his uncompromising lyrics, silvito insists he is no opponent of cuba. But silvitos candour has brought him problems. He says hes been detained and his friends have been intimidated by the authorities. Its led him to move away from the island to tampa, florida, where he is free to follow his career as a rapper. Do you think that fear is one of the legacies of the generation of el che, and fidel castro and raul castro . Few know that better than the islands dissidents. Among those calling for a new political system in cuba are the ladies in white. Originally formed by the wives of political prisoners, their weekly protests to call for free elections are often broken up by the police and state security. The organisers, arbitrarily detained. They say theyre calling for greater human rights on the island. The cuban government accused them of being mercenaries funded by right wing anti castro groups out of miami and washington. Certainly the cuban government allows them no room to operate. This was their protest on the eve of a visit by president obama in front of the worlds watching media. When our cameraman tried to film a weekly protest outside the ladys house, the police intervened. He was told he couldnt film there. And the police removed the camera from the scene as the mood began to heat up. What happened next was predictable and swift. A number of women were detained that day. Its a side of cuba thatjars with a new hip image of the island in the eyes of the rest of the world. In some cases, even the image of che guevara no longer appears sacred. His revolutionary beret and olive green fatigues drained of ideology and deployed for striking effect on chanel models at their recent fashion show in havana. Critics thought the show was condescending to ordinary cubans. Flaunting the worst of capitalisms excesses in front of them. Others thought it refreshingly reframed cuba as a Global Cultural icon for the 21st century. Thats exactly what people like gabriela domenech would like to see. Herfashion magazine, garbos, is only available through a revolutionary idea called el paquete, with very little internet permitted on the island it distributes global but not overtly political popular control via a semilegal system of downloading using hard drives. She is optimistic about the magazines impact. In spite of all the difficulties we are facing in cuba, i think that young people, entrepreneurs, are very optimistic. All these kinds of people want to find their own way here in cuba. They are trying to find a way to make a different country with new ideas, new projects. There is a lot of optimism in cuba at the moment. I cant help but wonder, 50 years after his death, how che would feel if he viewed the island today. As the conversation turned back to che guevara, gabriela had an extraordinary revelation about her family for me. My grandfather died with che guevara. In bolivia. And he died struggling for the revolution, for the freedom of cuba. So i grew up with this feeling in my family and this is what the young people have now. This legacy and this force for struggling to get what we want. Gabrielas grandfather, she told me, was orlando pa ntoja, a guerrilla who fought alongside che in bolivia exactly 50 years ago. He died in the battle in which che was captured. I was interested how gabrielas Family Connection to the world famous revolutionary influenced her life as an entrepreneur in todays emerging cuba. Do you feel like you are inspired by the sacrifices of your grandfather and his generation or are you growing away from what they built . In despite, of course, i feel inspired by this legacy. He was struggling by what he wanted and im doing the same right now. Having died so young, today che guevara is all things to all people. Adored and reviled in equal measure around the world for his socialist legacy. But inside cuba his image has assumed almost spiritual significance. Ever present in peoples daily lives and struggles. As the island redraws its future, the uncertainty is tangible. Amid the transition, che guevara is a source of continuity, even as todays cuba becomes further removed from the one he helped to create. Hello there. Weve had a treat over the last couple of evenings. Some amazing sunset pictures and this was one of them actually from friday evening. Beautiful colours there, all because the sun was setting underneath this bank of high cloud thats been streaming down from the north west. Another picture there, this time from coventry. You can see the layers of cloud. That cloud has been thickening and its been bringing with it outbreaks of rain from the north west. Thats spilling down across england and wales. The rain not amounting to very much, but it does mean its much more difficult to see the moon at the moment. A lot of cloud as we head into the weekend. Throughout the weekend well continue to feed in cloudier skies, and probably on saturday youre more likely to catch some rain. Should be drier across more of the country on sunday and probably that bit brighter as well. This is early saturday, though, and its a dull start across southern parts of england, perhaps south wales. A bit of rain and drizzle around here. A little bit brighter, though, as you move northwards for a while. In other parts of wales, the midlands, already some showers feeding in on those stronger west to north westerly winds. A lot of showers to begin the day in Northern Ireland. In scotland, these showers to the north of scotland could be rather heavy for a time. Most of the showers in scotland and Northern Ireland will be in the morning. In the afternoon they become fewer and lighter. Eastern scotland should see some sunshine poking through, a bit more shelter here. Improving in the afternoon with some sunshine in north east england. In between these drizzly rain bands that are moving towards the midlands and this rain thats stuck in the far south west, we may get some unreliable breaks in the cloud for central, southern england, perhaps south wales. Temperatures getting up to 16 or 17 degrees. Not quite as warm as that, though, for the Super League Grand final. Thats at old trafford. There will be some rain around here. Its going to be quite a dull and damp weekend on the whole across manchester. Although this weather front is taking the rain away from the english channel. Around the top of this flat area of high pressure, were again drawing in a lot of cloud. So its staying pretty mild overnight. Well still have some of these drizzly showers around on sunday, especially in western scotland. A few running in across wales perhaps into the midlands. Many eastern parts of england and scotland, perhaps southern england and south wales, much drier and brighter. A little sunshine, temperatures similar to those on saturday. Into the early part of next week and were going to find all our weather coming in from the atlantic. Moving on more quickly over the coming few days, these systems weakening as they run across the uk. This is bbc news. Im duncan golestani. Our top stories americas battle over Birth Control civil Rights Groups vow to fight the trump administrations new rules blocking access to free contraception. Catalonias government could be just days away from declaring independence from spain, but its former leader warns the regions not ready to go it alone. Vigils in las vegas for the victims of the deadliest mass shooting in recent us history. Police say theyve chased more than 1,000 leads, but the motives still not known. A group campaigning to abolish Nuclear Weapons is awarded this years nobel peace prize. 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