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I had travelled almost halfway across Cuba tracing his steps and now I was lost on the dusty edges of Santa Clara.

My curiosity about Che Guevara, as for many, was based on iconic photographs, books and movies: The Motorcycle Diaries, about the early years when his idealism was born; The Argentine, currently in post-production, about the latter years when it was put into action and challenged. And with Cuba moving inevitably toward a change of leadership, I wanted to see for myself to what extent its past still had resonance in towns that had played key roles in the revolution.

My objective that day was a railway crossing in the central city of Santa Clara, where Che had lead a daring attack on an armoured train. I arrived, however, as the museum next to the tren blindado was closing and my dejection must have been obvious. Out of the blue, a spry little woman popped up beside me. She grabbed my hand and proceeded to shepherd me through a jumble of side streets.

This was taking her out of her way, I protested, in my rusty Spanish.

“Nonsense,” she chuckled. “God sent you on my path today so I could help you.”

She told me she was an Evangelical Christian, a rarity in secular Cuba. I told her I was in Santa Clara looking for reminders of Che. “Ah, Che,” she sighed. “He saved my mother's life, you know, just before I was born.”

It was the last days of 1958 and the town was under siege. My guide's mother was 16 and heavily pregnant. Che strode into the room where she lay in bed and ordered her to leave immediately. Moments later, a bomb fell on that very spot.

The Cuban revolution is now almost 50 years old and the Argentine doctor who became its adopted son has been dead for close to four decades. But even today, it seems everyone in this vibrant university town has a personal story about Che. And, as I discovered quite unexpectedly, Santa Clara is the hub of an entirely different kind of revolution.

Things didn't look so cheery when I first arrived on a Sunday afternoon in a torrential rain. The old town, with its preserved colonial architecture, seemed deserted. It took some doing to find an open café. But, fortified at last by a ham sandwich and a couple of shots of strong Cuban coffee, I ventured back into the streets. At the precise moment that I rounded a corner into Santa Clara's main square, the Parque Vidal, the sun broke through the clouds and music wafted my way.

Under the elegant arches that lined the square, an elderly band much like the Buena Vista Social Club was letting loose with a raunchy cha cha cha. A crowd gathered round, laughing, sharing bottles of Havana Club. Men and women of all ages danced in pairs. As I got closer, it hit me that this moment — so typically Cuban in so many ways — was very different from anything I had experienced in years of travel here.

Blended in among the dancers were a number of same-sex couples, cheek to cheek. It was my first indication that, in a country where the taboo around homosexuality is lifting only slowly, Santa Clara was a place of tolerance for gays.

A young hairdresser became a mascot of my stay. He would turn up as I wandered around town, bat lashes heavy with mascara and ask in a breathy voice for everything from perfume to help finding a Canadian boyfriend. No offence was taken when I couldn't oblige.

My second day here, the crowing of a rooster was a welcome alarm clock. It meant no rain as I headed out to see the ultimate in Che hagiography at his mausoleum in the Plaza de la Revolucion.

It was a lively two-kilometre trip away from the Parque Vidal. Even though Santa Clara is a provincial capital with a population of 250,000 and a large medical school, its main public transit is still in the form of horse-drawn wagons. Bicycles are also prevalent. The Che memorial loomed over the horizon. A bronze statue of the commandant was set on a marble pedestal in front of an enormous square where political rallies still take place.

The museum tucked underneath the statue featured an array of artifacts from Che's life, everything from his Grade 3 report card — not surprisingly, he excelled at history — to his asthma inhaler. Stepping out from its last room, I found myself in front of a doorway where a serious young guide ushered visitors into a cave-like room: the final resting place of Che's remains, repatriated in 1997 from Bolivia where he died. In the corner, burned a torch — a Cuban friend had joked that with the constant shortages in the country, this eternal flame must find itself out of fuel on a regular basis.

But the guide who watched over us seemed incapable of cracking even the faintest of smiles. When a couple of Europeans made a lighthearted comment, she hissed at them, “Por favor, por favor.” Her message was clear, even if you didn't speak a stitch of Spanish: “Please respect the sanctity of this place.”

One wonders what her reaction might be to Che's image in the West, such as those T-shirts where a logo under his iconic profile reads: “I have no idea who this guy is.”

Whatever you think of Che Guevara and the Cuban revolution — admiration or hatred or a shade of grey in between — a visit to Santa Clara cannot fail but breathe life into a fascinating chapter of history now on the brink of change.

GETTING THERE

Santa Clara is on the main bus route between Havana and Santiago. It's about a four-hour ride from Havana by comfortable Viazul coaches (with air conditioning, movies and washrooms on board). Cost: $43.

For inter-city buses, reservations (either from Cuba or Canada) are recommended. See www.viazul.com.

WHERE TO STAY

The Hotel Santa Clara on the Parque Vidal is an ugly bunker with surly staff. Best to opt for one of the abundant casas particulares (bed and breakfasts) in town where a room will run about $24 a night. A recommended choice is the home of Consuelo Ramos Rodriguez. Independencia No. 265, Apto 1: 11-53-20-20-64; marielatrama@yahoo.es.WHERE TO EAT AND DRINK

As in the rest of Cuba, finding food can pose a problem. The best option is to eat breakfast and dinner at your guest house. From $9 to $12 gets you an extensive dinner with soup, rice, beans, salad and chicken or shrimp. A good place for lunch is the Park View café on the Parque Vidal. For $5, you get a quarter roast chicken, fries, Bucanero beer and a front-row seat on the gay social scene.CURRENCY

American dollars used to be widely accepted. Now, Cubans just sneer at them. Tourists should change Canadian dollars into convertible Cuban pesos at airports, banks or major hotels. (One CUC is worth $1.22.) If you're caught in a bind, some locals might accept Canadian dollars (although they'll usually ask an even higher premium). Don't forget to save 25 CUC for the mandatory airport departure tax.