Che's companion on noted '52 motorcycle trip dies

HAVANA – Ernesto 'Che' Guevara's traveling companion on a 1952 motorcycle journey that became immortalized in print and on the silver screen has died in Cuba. He was 88.

Argentine native Alberto Granado died of natural causes Saturday morning in Cuba, where he has lived since 1961.

Cuban state-run television announced his death without giving other details.

Granado and Che's trip across Latin America on a broken-down motorcycle awoke in Guevara a social consciousness and political convictions that started him down the path to becoming a revolutionary icon.

His memoir of the journey, "Motorcycle Diaries," was later turned into a hit film.