Che Guevara's 81st birthday :

Bolivia, China pay tribute

Bolivia: Bolivians and Cubans on Sunday paid tribute to Ernesto Che Guevara on his 81st birthday at the same place where he was murdered in October, 1967.

A group of Cuban working in Bolivia, members of the Che Guevara foundation, and local authorities gathered at this distant place to honor the legendary guerrilla, born on June 14, 1928 in the Argentinean city of Rosario.

La Higuera (Spanish: "The Fig Tree") is a small village in Bolivia located in the Province of Vallegrande, in the Department of Santa Cruz.

Situated some 150 km southwest of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, the village lies at an elevation of 1950 m. Its population (according to the 2001 census) is 119, mainly indigenous Guarani people.

On October 8, 1967 Che Guevara was captured by the Bolivian Army in the nearby ravine Quebrada del Churo, ending his campaign to create a liberation movement in South America, but the guerrillaA's example has remained alive.

A monument and a memorial at the schoolhouse were he was murdered in La Higuera are a stop in the Che Guevara Trail inaugurated in 2004 to honor the Heroic Guerrilla, as he is also known.

In SundayA's tribute, Cuban teachers, social workers and health personnel working in Bolivia will be recognized for their work.

Before travelling to La Higuera, the convoy made a stopover in the eastern Bolivian town of Vallegrande, where Che GuavaraA's body was placed on display and afterwards secretly buried under an airstrip.

His remains were found 30 years later and brought to Cuba, together with most member of his guerrilla force.

La Higuera, Prensa Latina