Cuban revolutionary 'Che' Guevara painting criticized, will stay at Reno airport through May 9

RENO, Nev. - Reno-Tahoe International Airport plans no changes in a temporary art exhibit despite criticism of a painting of a Latin American revolutionary who fought alongside Fidel Castro during the Cuban revolution.

Airport spokesman Brian Kulpin says the painting of Ernesto "Che" Guevara will remain on display through May 9 with the other nearly 100 items in the employee art exhibit.

Jose Paz, a 71-year-old native Cuban who now lives in northern Nevada, says the portrait with the word "Revolucion" is offensive and shouldn't be displayed at a public airport. He told the Reno Gazette-Journal it's like showing a painting of Osama bin Laden with the word "Jihad."

Kulpin says the artists have a right to express themselves. He says that freedom is one of the reasons many Cubans fled to America.