Andy Garcia - Word to your mother

Andy Garcia is Fed Up With People Who Glorify Che Guevara
[Damn right]

Andy Garcia is urging fashion-conscious rebels to stop wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the image of Latino revolutionary Ernesto 'Che' Guevara because they remind Cubans of terrible times. The actor accepts that Guevara stands for rebellion and is seen as a hero to many, but he sees the revolutionary as a butcher who killed millions of his countrymen.

Argentine-born Guevara helped current Cuban leader Fidel Castro overthrow General Fulgencio Batista's government in a guerrilla revolution in the late 1950s. [And went on to ruthlessly murder or personally authorize the murder of thousands of Cubans -- oops, forgot to mention that.]

Garcia, who left Cuba when he was five, says, "I'd be curious to go around and ask them how much they really know about Che. Some people wearing the T-shirt don't even know his name. They know he's some sort of revolutionary, and to wear his image is cool because you feel like a revolutionary. Someone told me the other day that they asked one of these people if they were aware of all the executions that Che was a part of in Cuba and the guy said, 'Well, I don't know if that's true, as if it had been made up to discredit him.' I wish you could say it was made up because that would mean that all those people didn't die under his thumb. That's the tragedy."

"Lookit me! I'm so cool! I've got a commie bastard murderer on my t-shirt!" Man, you get one good photo taken of you, look what happens . . .

(via Relapsed)

(Of course, The Regime's cranky with Garcia b/c of this teeny little film coming out . . . did I ever mention I think Andy Garcia's the coolest? I've had such a crush on him since, oh, The Untouchables . . .)