Benicio del Toro Plays Che Guevara, A Revolutionary With A Rolex
Posted by John Lavitt and filed under Rolex Pop Culture |
In Stephen Sodebergh’s new film Che, Academy Award winning actor Benicio del Toro wears a Rolex to accurately portray Marxist revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara. Over four hours in length, Che combines two films, Che Part 1: The Argentine and Che Part 2: Guerrilla, into one massive epic. Che wore a Rolex GMT Master, and the actor wears the same classic Rolex watch in the film. Previously, Benicio Del Toro and Stephen Sodebergh teamed up to make Traffic, and they both walked away with Oscars for Best Supporting Actor and Best Director, respectively. As for the watch, Rolex launched the GMT Master in 1954 to aid pilots who travel through multiple time zones.
In the extreme left wing and somewhat revolutionary community online, the fact that Che wore a Rolex GMT Master continues to elicit vigorous debates on whether the revolutionary sold his soul for a Rolex watch. As an anonymous revolutionary writes in defense of Che on revleft.com: “Rolex was one of the only watches known for their ability to keep accurate time, with little worry of breakdown…. The fact that Che wore a Rolex (a GMT Master) merely indicates that he had a need for a quality watch that told accurate time.” Even a revolutionary understands that no watch in world compares to a Rolex when it comes to quality and precision. According to legend, Che received the watch as a present and eventually donated the gold band to charity. In pictures of Che, the jubilee bracelet on his Rolex GMT Master remains in place. It makes perfect sense that Che would wear a Rolex GMT Master while fighting in the jungles of South America. Such violent struggles demand nothing less than perfect timing for both attacks and secret gatherings.
Unfortunately, Ernesto “Che” Guevara’s struggle for victory in Bolivia came to a bitter end when he was captured and executed in 1967. Che allegedly said to his executioner, “I know you’ve come to kill me. Shoot, coward, you are only going to kill a man.” At the end, Che was interrogated and executed by Felix Rodriguez who cut off Che’s hands for proper identification for the CIA. Before performing this gruesome deed, Rodriguez took Che’s Rolex GMT Master and placed the watch on his own wrist. In ensuing years, the executioner proudly would show-off the Rolex watch to reporters and onlookers. Such a legendary Rolex should not have ended up as a souvenir of an assassin. Luckily, actor Benicio Del Toro and director Stephen Sodebergh in their new epic film, Che, revive Che’s memory and the true legacy of his Rolex GMT Master. Che’s stylized visage can now be seen on multiple t-shirts and posters around the world, as he has become a ubiquitous countercultural symbol worldwide. In addition, everyone should remember that Che Guevara was smart enough to wear a Rolex GMT Master when his struggle and his life were on the line because even a Revolutionary knows the value of a Rolex.
