Reddit reviews Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life

"It is no secret that the Beatles and many other rock bands were banned in Cuba during the early years of the Revolution. Every western band with English lyrics in their repertoire was considered decadent, capitalist and a bad example for the formation of the proper values of the Cuban youth. And it also went for the fashion and subculture that came along. So, rock and roll, the Beatles, jeans, miniskirts, long hair, and English were locked in the same box. And the key thrown away."

http://www.cubanow.cult.cu/pages/articulo.php?sec=17&t=2&item=1063

Also, this video expands on the music bans, which included all jazz and other "frivolous" and "imperialist" music, and was not limited to the Beatles and 1960's rock:

http://reason.com/reasontv/2008/12/11/killer-chic

The relationship between racist thoughts and Che is a subjective one that honestly, probably seems more racist to our 2012 western eyes than is called for. He was certainly less racist than most non-blacks at the time. There are many, many examples of this from his biography and his speeches, as you already know. There are other things that modern ears find troubling though, IMHO it's uncalled for, but there statements made to him that if made by a white person in 2012 would be "racist" (as opposed to statements made by a latin person working in Africa to lead a reolution among blacks)

The negros are lazy comment comes to mind, and the bitterness after Africa with the "We're going to do for blacks exactly what blacks did for the revolution. By which I mean: nothing." comment can be seen that way too. This biography sources the quotes (and even the embittered quote about the negro maintaining racial purity via a staunch aversion to bathing).

http://www.amazon.com/Che-Guevara-A-Revolutionary-Life/dp/0802135587

Whoa, an A+!

Kidding aside, I am a bit baffled as well. I really think the OP is confusing Che with Castro. There just aren't a lot of takedowns of him I can find on the web that would confirm anything posted, one of the worst is:
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2004/09/the_cult_of_che.html

There are a host of books available about Che's life, but I would recommend John Lee Anderson's book to anyone interested:
http://www.amazon.com/Che-Guevara-Revolutionary-Jon-Anderson/dp/0802135587

He wasn't evil; rather, he violently opposed a class of individuals that now have (or had) enormous political power in the United States. Only people from the U.S. really believe he was evil. Go anywhere else and he is revered by most everyone.

Read John Lee Anderson's Che: A Revolutionary Life for a balanced take on him. Disregard BrotherJayne's analysis, which is as simplistic as the ideology he/she is trying to criticize.

EDIT: I also really enjoyed Soderbergh's two-part biopic of Che.

A Revolutionary Life.

It was in the comment you replied to. At least it is now. I don't know if you saw it or not. Those asteriks can be elusive at times. Although I'm not sure how someone could read this link and not conceive that as racist. Which is what I think this argument is about.

I suggest reading one of his biographies.

Regardless of if you believe he was a brutal leader or a compassionate idealist I think everyone can agree he was a huge agent of change in Latin America and the world.

Also, The Motorcycle Diaries was an amazing movie. Last time I almost cried in the theatres (when he swims across the river to stay with the lepers).

Reading this is mandatory. If you don't read this, you don't know anymore than the people who wear him on t-shirts do.