Texas Man Buys Lock Of Che’s Hair For $100,000
DALLAS — A hair lock snipped from Ernesto “Che” Guevara before his burial in 1967 sold for $100,000 at auction Thursday to a Houston-area bookstore owner who called the Marxist “one of the greatest revolutionaries of the 20th century.”
Bill Butler, 61, won the 3-inch tress clipped from Guevara’s mane after placing the only bid, which matched the reserve price.
Butler, who bid over the phone, said he was a collector of 1960s items and that the hair lock would fit in well.
“A lot of his writings are still worth reading today,” said Butler, whose comments were relayed by a Heritage employee who spoke to him on the phone immediately after the auction.
Butler said he plans to ultimately display the hair at his Butler & Sons Books in Rosenberg, located just outside Houston. He said he didn’t know how high he was prepared to bid.
Earlier, the auction house had confirmed that someone in Venezuela, where President Hugo Chavez venerates Guevera as a model socialist, had requested a rush delivery of a catalog. Heritage spokeswoman Kelley Norwine would not say who in Venezuela requested the catalog or where it was shipped.
The Dallas-based auction house had hired extra security as a precaution against protesters, who Heritage thought might attend after alleged threats made against the company. Norwine said the company had been monitoring “leftist bloggers” upset that the company was profiting from Guevara’s death.
Tom Slater, a director at Heritage, said the buyer had previously purchased other “very high-profile, exciting” items from the auction house.
Slater said he wasn’t surprised only one bidder emerged, adding that would-be buyers may have been torn about whether purchasing the hair of the Argentinian was “the right thing to do.”
“There was so much controversy surrounding the lot I think it may have given some people pause,” Slater said. “There was no comfort zone.”
The hair was consigned by Gustavo Villoldo, a former CIA operative and Cuban exile who was involved in Guevara’s capture, according to unclassified U.S. records and other documents.
According to Heritage, Villoldo did not want Guevara’s body to be returned to Cuba, where it would receive a hero’s funeral, so he supervised the burial in a common grave where a runway was being built.
“I wanted proof,” Villoldo said of taking the hair, “that I had completed my mission.”
Norwine said the hair hasn’t been forensically matched to Guevara because of fears of test tampering. But she said the auction house is confident in its authenticity.
The Cuban government announced in 1995 that its anthropologists had uncovered Guevara’s remains from Bolivia, and re-interred them in Cuba without doing DNA testing. Villoldo and other exiles and experts say the body is still in Bolivia.
(AP)
Be respectful of others and their opinions. Inflammatory remarks and inane leftist drivel will be deleted. It ain’t about free speech, remember you’re in a private domain. My website, my prerogative.
If you can't handle using your real email address, don't bother posting a comment.
As P.T. Barnum said there’s a SUCKER born every minute! I think it’s more like every second now!
October 25th, 2007 at 8:39 pmLeftist bloggers are concerned that someone might be profiting from Chithead’s death?
ROFLMAO!
Much as I detest this shitbag, I wouldn’t mind holding the rights to use his image. Somebody is raking the money in off shirt sales.
October 25th, 2007 at 8:40 pmThat’s freakin sick..hope it still has lice
October 25th, 2007 at 9:00 pmI just love the fact that Che was a Marxist and that after he died his image started being sold on t-shirts, posters, and coffee mugs. Now a part of his body was sold. The irony is hilarious.
October 25th, 2007 at 9:47 pmOh, lookie that … Che done pissed himself down.
October 25th, 2007 at 10:02 pmNorwine said the company had been monitoring “leftist bloggers” upset that the company was profiting from Guevara’s death.
Welcome to capitalism, stupid fucking Commies…
The only thing that would make it sweeter is if the money was being donated to a U.S. Military Charity.
October 26th, 2007 at 12:31 amWhat’s up with the hankie, General? I love the smell of dead commies.
October 26th, 2007 at 6:31 amLeftists fetishize this murderous little gorilla like Marilyn Monroe. Piss on his grave. It is always humorous to me how much capitalist wealth they are willing to throw around to prove how “down” with the people they are. And then off to yoga class while the nanny takes care of the kids. I went to see “Gone Baby Gone” last night. Ben Affleck’s latest prep-boy voyage into this working class Boston area that he is clearly a tourist in. I never saw anyone exoticize Irish Catholics as much as this guy does. Yeesh. But he’s DOWN with the struggle, Mc-Homeys. He’s a lowlife wannabe.
Meanwhile, any of the “people” with half a brain are trying to get rich, like Ted Turner or George Soros.
Rich liberals are the funniest bunch of people on God’s Green Earth. If only a bidding war between this guy and Bill Maher had occurred. (I mean, look at Maher’s hair plugs, for God’s sake. Or Keith Olbermann’s toupee. The thing is older than Che.)
Take me, bro.
October 26th, 2007 at 8:29 am