Halfway through St. George’s first trip to the Sierra Maestra, Che explained he had once made a living as a street photographer in Mexico after fleeing Guatemala and a job in the agrarian reform division after a CIA coup toppled Guatemala’s elected government. St. George then gifted Che Guevara with one of his three cameras and some film. Che expressed sheer delight with the gift. He also took several well-crafted pictures of St. George in the Sierra that he later used to prove his own presence there. On his second trip in the fall of 1957, St. George also began to bring back rolls shot by Che of daily life in the Sierra, the surrender of enemy soldiers, and the army officers who switched sides from Batista to Fidel during the war. St. George also provided the 26th of July Movement’s propaganda wing with many pictures of his own. Photographs by Andrew St. George and Ernesto “Che” Guevara.
