Tamara Bunke (November 19, 1937?1967), better known as Tania, was a spy who played a prominent role in the Cuban Revolution and in other Latin American revolutionary movements with Che Guevara.

She was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the daughter of Communist parents who embraced Marxist ideology. Her parents had moved to Buenos Aires from Germany during the 1930s in order to escape the Nazis.

During the 1950s, Bunke's father moved their family back to Germany. Tamara studied political science at Humboldt University, and after graduating, began working for the East German Ministry of State Security where she took on several espionage missions. Bunke, highly committed to the Communist Party, traveled throughout Europe and South America under several aliases, posing as a student of folklore.

Back in East Germany in 1960, she met Che Guevara, a leading figures in the Cuban Revolution, and served as his translator. Inspired by the Revolution, Bunke came to Cuba in 1961 to join the movement, and she became a member of the guerillas. She traveled with Guevara throughout Latin and South America, spreading Communism to its people. It was during this time that she took on the guerilla name "Tania". While in Cuba, she participated in work brigades, the militia, and the literacy campaign.

In 1964, she traveled to Bolivia as a secret agent for Guevara's last campaign. During this mission she posed as a folk music collector.

Bunke died in Bolivia in 1967, along with eight fellow communist guerillas. The Bolivian Army ambushed the group while they were crossing the Rio Grande at Vado del Yeso .

Bunke's dedication to the Cuban Revolution became an inspiration to others. During her involvement with the SLA, Patty Hearst took on the alias "Tania".

In 1997, a Newsweek magazine feature on "Che Chic" briefly discussed "Tania, an upcoming Warner Brothers film about the apocryphal romance between Guevara" and Bunke, to be directed by Michael Radford and executive produced by Mick Jagger. [1] The project appears to have been dropped.