This photo was submitted by traveler Daphne H.

She snapped it while visiting the city of San Salvador in El Salvador.

We can see why. What is Che doing on this sparse wall all by himself?

It certainly is a strange sight, although one that we very much appreciate.

Daphne has been lucky enough to visit El Salvador numerous times. She and another woman run a teacher-to-teacher exchange program there.

Each year since 2000, a group of teachers (many of them Alaskan) travels to El Salvador and participate in an English-language exchange with Salvadorian English teachers. The American teachers help the Salvadorian teachers practice their pronunciation, answer cultural questions and share ideas for new classroom activities.

This picture was submitted by traveler Misciel L.

She spotted this Che while touring Venice, Italy.

She happened to be in Venice at the same time that the Italian neofascist party chose to hold a meeting there and at the same time that a protest was being held to contest the party’s meeting.

And of course, sensing political tension, Che showed up.

This picture was submitted by Amber Procaccini, photographer with a serious case of wanderlust.

While traveling in Spain, she visited a flea market in Madrid.

That’s where she came across this tin cigarette case stamped with a picture of Che.

She liked the contrast of Che’s scruffy image and the word “Revolucion” amidst an assortment of vintage clip-on earrings, broaches and other women’s accessories.

Anyone who visits downtown Minneapolis in the winter, quickly learns how to navigate the skyway system.

Because of the cold winter temps, people who work downtown aren’t keen on heading outside to go grab coffee, get lunch, run to the bank or do other errands.

Instead, a series of indoor sidewalks link most of the downtown buildings. These indoor sidewalks are not underground. They are on the second story. They are bridges that cross over the streets.

Skyway traffic is heavy, especially during the lunch rush. One day, while rushing about our business in the skyway system of downtown Minneapolis, we happened to glance into the windows of a nearby building and we spotted Che!

As you can imagine, we are extremely curious about this Che. Whose office is this?

We’ll probably never know, but every time we cross this skyway, we look up and look for Che. He’s always there.

Ducking into a cool shop to escape the oppressive heat of a Texas 4th of July, we spotted a wall of fun knick-knacks and toys, among them these Create-a-Commie kits.

Che is just one of the many suggested Communist leaders that one can create using the magic wand. Others include Lenin, Marx, Trotsky, Gorby and, of course, Castro.

The toy was made by Accoutrements. After a check of the web site, it appears the Create-A-Commie kits are no longer in production.

Luckily, we bought one when we saw them.

It’s a frustrating toy, however. We’ve never quite been able to create a perfect magnetic Che.

When Jen P. packed her bags and headed to northern India, she assumed she’d spot Che at some point on her trip. After all, she’d traveled to many, many countries, and she’d seen Che’s mug show up in all sorts of strange places.

However, after 10 days in India, she was about to leave empty handed. In India, buildings, walls, and all modes of transportation were plastered with images of animals, gods and gurus. But the iconic Che image wasn’t present amidst the chaos. He was nowhere to be seen.

Yet Jen P. didn’t give up. She kept her eyes peeled for Che even on her departing trip to the airport. That was her last chance, she thought, to spot Che while she was in India. But when she arrived, she still hadn’t seen him. She sighed, resigning herself to the fact that his seemingly ever-present face just wasn’t there.

But then—but then there he was! This Che was spotted just outside the duty free shop inside Indira Gandhi International Airport.

Jen P. could rest easy. Che’s iconic face had not let her down.

This picture was submitted by Catherine Watson, an award-winning travel writer.

Watson, who was the chief travel writer and editor of the Minneapolis Star Tribune for nearly three decades, is also the author of two books. Currently, she is the travel editor for MinnPost.com.

In the course of her global travels, she often spots El Che. She happened across this colorful mural in an unrestored part of Old Havana while she was traveling in Cuba.

Watson submitted this image to CheSpotting.com several months ago. We decided to post it now because we recently ran across a story on NPR about two photographers, one Cuban and one American, who have been working together to create a cross-cultural photography exhibit of Cuba. When we went to the NPR web site to listen to the story and see its accompanying pictures, we were surprised to see that the opening shot was of this same Che mural.

Kathmandu, Nepal.
Che Gets His Freak On.

We spotted this Che on “Freak Street” in Kathmandu, a small lane in the heart of the city known as a former hippie hangout.

Interestingly, on a day when most shops were closed due to a Maoist-ordered strike in the city, this store was not only open, but also proudly displaying a flag of Che alongside other recognizable global icons, like Bob Marley.

While traveling through Nepal, we learned that The Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) differentiates itself from the Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist-Leninist) groups. Often thought of as a more militant form of Communism, Maoists play a large role in Nepalese government today and regularly uses strikes to make its political opinions known.

Was that Che? Or a Star Wars Storm Trooper? Or both? Or neither?

Luckily we had our camera stashed in our purse.

We snapped a quick pic, noticing the words “UrbanMedium” printed at the  bottom of the image, and were soon on our way.

A few days later, we downloaded the picture to our computer and decided to Google “UrbanMedium” to see what we could find.

Up popped the web site of an Atlanta artist named Derek Fridman.

His aim, he says on his web site, is to transform iconic imagery that we’re used to seeing in our everyday surroundings.

That sticker we spotted on the back of a car in a busy Minneapolis parking lot was indeed a combination of two images: Che and a Star Wars Storm Trooper. Fridman named his creation “CheTrooper.”

Fridman sells “CheTrooper” stickers through his web site where he also has a bunch of pictures of these stickers plastered in various urban locations.

He also sells t-shirts sporting his “CheTrooper” image.

And, if you really like the idea of a “CheTrooper,” you can buy a three-dimensional bust!

Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Che Behind Bars.

This picture was submitted by Steve W.

He spotted this Che while touring the Red Light District in Amsterdam.

It was propped up behind the bar in one of the neighborhood’s fine establishments. The bartender graciously let Steve behind the bar to snap this photo.

However, Steve admits, the package of Che brand cigarettes here wasn’t what initially drew his attention behind the bar.

Gee, we just can’t guess what it was that caught his eye . . .