Granado

Dr. Granado wrote that he and Guevara were impressed by the mine's high-tech machinery.

Alberto Granado, Che Guevara's motorcycle companion, dies at 88 2011

Before their journey, Dr. Granado was the more politically active of the two - in 1943, he was jailed for participating in protests against Argentina's military government.

Alberto Granado, Che Guevara's motorcycle companion, dies at 88 2011

Dr. Granado said he appreciated the movie's effort to dig beneath the mythical Che, whose defiant image appears on T-shirts and posters around the world, to reveal the flawed, flesh-and-blood Ernesto beneath.

Alberto Granado, Che Guevara's motorcycle companion, dies at 88 2011

Alberto Granado Jimenez was born Aug. 8, 1922, in the Cordoba province of central Argentina, where his father was a railroad clerk.

Alberto Granado, Che Guevara's motorcycle companion, dies at 88 2011

The two journals were the foundation for the well-received 2004 film "The Motorcycle Diaries," starring Gael Garcia Bernal as Guevara and Rodrigo De la Serna as Dr. Granado.

Alberto Granado, Che Guevara's motorcycle companion, dies at 88 2011

"The film shows what we were," Dr. Granado said in 2004, "which was two young men - boys, really - who went looking for adventure and found the truth and tragedy of our homeland."

Alberto Granado, Che Guevara's motorcycle companion, dies at 88 2011

Granado, an Argentine who had lived in Cuba since 1961, died of natural causes Saturday morning, according to Cuban state-run television, which gave no other details.

Alberto Granado, Che Companion And 'Motorcycle Diaries' Inspiration, Dead At 88 The Huffington Post News Editors 2011

Granado, an Argentine who had lived in Cuba since 1961, died of natural causes Saturday morning, according to Cuban state-run television, which gave no other details.

Alberto Granado, Che Companion And 'Motorcycle Diaries' Inspiration, Dead At 88 The Huffington Post News Editors 2011

HAVANA — Alberto Granado, who accompanied Ernesto 'Che' Guevara on a 1952 journey of discovery across Latin America that was immortalized in Guevara's memoir and on-screen in "The Motorcycle Diaries," died in Cuba on Saturday.

Alberto Granado, Che Companion And 'Motorcycle Diaries' Inspiration, Dead At 88 The Huffington Post News Editors 2011

Dr. Granado took a less political tack, continuing to study the treatment of leprosy and committing to a career in research science.

Alberto Granado, Che Guevara's motorcycle companion, dies at 88 2011