Cuba: 'He lives in the hearts of the people', a Che Guevara poster outside a small town in Matanzas Province. While living in Mexico City, Che Guevara (1928 - 1967) met Ra?l and Fidel Castro, joined their 26th of July Movement, and sailed to Cuba aboard the yacht, Granma, with the intention of overthrowing U.S.-backed Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. Guevara rose to prominence among the insurgents, was promoted to second-in-command, and played a pivotal role in the victorious two year guerrilla campaign that deposed the Batista regime.