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He was a mighty revolutionary, but for one woman, Ernesto “Che” Guevara, he was simply “Papi” – a beloved father whose dedication to the South American revolution stole him from her far too soon. Dr Aleida Guevara, the eldest of Che Guevara’s four children with his second wife, was nearly seven when her dad was assassinated by CIA-backed agents in Bolivia 45 years ago. Growing up in his shadow, the widespread adulation for him confused her at first. “Up to the age of 16 I wondered, ‘Why should I love my father? He was never beside me’,” the Mirror quoted her as saying. “Then I went through all the memories I have of him and realised he was a man who knew how to love.” “I had to love him back,” she said. Aleida is also a paediatrician, following in her medic father’s footsteps, to “give back all the love the Cuban people have always shown to me”, and has been instrumental in setting up children’s homes in the Cuban capital Havana . She has also worked as a doctor in other countries, particularly Angola , and like her father, her experiences bolstered her passion for equality.

How Che Guevara’s daughter grew up in her dad’s shadow