Che Guevara, revolutionary and scientist? They disseminate details of their work at the Argentine Museum of Natural Sciences

Few know that before becoming an icon of the Cuban revolution, Ernesto “Che” Guevara collaborated at the Argentine Museum of Natural Sciences, an important scientific entity located in the city of Buenos Aires. Specifically, he worked on research into the nervous system of fish. The archaeologist and paleontologist Federico Agnolín reveals unpublished details of this facet of Che, based on oral stories and objects that are still preserved in the institution.

In 1947, Ernesto Guevara was not yet “Che.” The Cuban Revolution was still a few years away and he would become known for his role in the guerrilla movements of Latin America. At 19 years old, while politics began to attract his attention, other equally strong interests guided him: science, biology and medicine. For a brief but significant period, the young Guevara dedicated his time to the study of the nervous system of fish at the Bernardino Rivadavia Argentine Museum of Natural Sciences (MACN), a fact almost unknown in his biography.

“Throughout 1947, Ernesto worked in the histology laboratory, where he made sections of fish to study the nervous system,” Federico Agnolín, a MACN paleontologist, who was part of a team that investigated this stage, told the CTyS-UNLaM Agency. little known.

According to Agnolín, Guevara’s participation in the museum was facilitated by his aunt, Carmen de la Serna, who was a professor at the Faculty of Medicine and maintained professional ties with Dr. Jorge de Carlo, head of the museum’s histology section. Furthermore, his fellow student, Berta Gilda Infante, was key in this scientific adventure, sharing long days of volunteering with him in which they both dissected and prepared samples under the supervision of a German professor.

This discovery not only adds symbolic value to his time at the MACN, but also gives it significant historical relevance. “It is a living testimony of a little-known facet of Che, a man who, before taking up arms, delicately manipulated an instrument of science to better understand nature,” reflects Agnolín.

Medical registration and photo of Che. (Image: MACN / CTyS-UNLaM Agency)

The research to reconstruct this facet of Che was not easy. Without official documents certifying his participation, the work focused on oral accounts and what could be considered a modern archaeological find: the instruments that Guevara used during his time at the MACN. In a kind of rescue from oblivion, the team of researchers managed to identify the microtome (a cutting instrument that allows obtaining very thin slices of material) and the blade with which Che made the histological sections of the fish he studied.

“Finding those objects was like unearthing a lost piece of history,” Sergio Bogan of the Ichthyology Division of the MACN comments with emotion. “The blade and the microtome are the only material testimonies that link Che with his scientific work in the Museum, and they have been transmitted from generation to generation, almost like relics.” In fact, some oral accounts said that Che used the blade to shave, although this myth is part of the folklore surrounding his figure. What is truly important is that these objects, forgotten for decades in the museum, have been rescued and now constitute a tangible connection between the young scientist Guevara and the revolutionary he would become.

Although Guevara did not pursue a scientific career, his interest in biology and nature persisted throughout his life. “He was always interested in the nervous system and biology,” says Agnolín, who highlights how in Che’s diaries during the campaign in Bolivia there are frequent references to the flora and fauna of the region, in addition to his passion for research. . “He was an innate observer of nature, something that came from his days at the Museum,” he highlights.

“The discovery of this stage of Che’s life is a facet totally ignored by the majority; Even in Cuba there are no records from this period,” comment the research team made up of Agnolín, Bogan, Karen Panzeri, Sergio Gómez de Saravia and Gustavo Chiaramonte. In fact, after sharing this information with the National Archive of Cuba, who guard A large part of Che’s archives expressed their surprise at these unpublished data.

Today, the Argentine Museum of Natural Sciences houses not only objects linked to Guevara, but also an essential part of Argentine history. “It is incredible that such relevant figures as Che have passed through our scientific institutions,” reflects Agnolín, who hopes that with this visibility more documents and stories will begin to emerge that will help reconstruct this lost chapter in the life of one of the political myths. most iconic of the 20th century. (Source: Magalí de Diego / CTyS-UNLaM Agency)