Lock of Che's hair up for Dallas auction

[buckthesystem]

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4251423a4560.html

A strand of revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara's hair and related items are being auctioned in Dallas in a sale that is rumoured to have caught the eye of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

The collection belongs to Gustavo Villoldo, 71, a former CIA operative who helped hunt Che down in the jungles of Bolivia in 1967 and who claims he cut off the lock before burying the guerrilla fighter with two of his comrades.

"We shipped a catalogue overnight detailing the items to a very interested Venezuelan buyer," said Kelley Norwine, vice president of marketing for Heritage Auction Galleries, which is auctioning the mementos.

The auction house will not say if the interested party represented the government but news of a "mystery buyer" has fuelled media speculation that it could be the leftist Chavez, an admirer of Che.

The hair may have forensic value by providing DNA proof that Che's remains are in fact in Cuba, where he is venerated as a hero of the revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power five decades ago.

Che, then 39, was captured by CIA-backed Bolivian soldiers on October 8, 1967 and shot next day in a schoolhouse. Some remains believed to be his were later dug up and taken to Cuba.

"This may be the only DNA that could prove that Castro has his body. Gustavo helped bury Che and he claims there were only two other bodies with his corpse," said Norwine, as she pointed to the dark strand sealed in a plastic envelope in a glass display case.

"But when the remains said to be his were dug up and taken to Cuba there were six other bodies in the grave," she said. Villoldo claimed to know the precise location of Che's grave because he wrote down the coordinates.

A scrapbook containing what Heritage says are previously unpublished photos of the dead Che are also being auctioned. One shows a group of rag-tag soldiers brandishing rifles and standing proudly around his corpse like hunters posing with a trophy. Others show his corpse propped up, eyes wide open.

A hand-written note from one of Che's comrades-in-arms to the guerrilla leader saying he had reached an undisclosed location and awaited further orders is also being auctioned.

The mementos which will be sold together have a starting price of $US100,000 and the auction is expected to be completed on Thursday night.

Heritage has tightened security after receiving threatening emails from groups in Argentina protesting the sale.

Norwine said Heritage Auction Galleries has auctioned off hair before including strands from the heads of Abraham Lincoln, Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe.

[boblandis]

That lock of hair sure isn't "Che"ap is it?