Ernesto Guevara's The Motorcycle Diaries ( Diarios de Motocicleta ) is not the travel journal of the man who would become one of Time Magazine's "icons of the century." Rewritten by Guevara several years after the journey took place, the Motorcycle Diaries movie is a memoir. The entries from his travel diary depicting the events and people encountered on the trip, combined with his ruminations on their later significance, provide a rare opportunity to witness the retracing of a remarkable man's destiny and the solidifying of his identity from its earlier state.

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The Motorcycle Diaries ( Diarios de Motocicleta ) originated at South Fork Pictures with executive producer Robert Redford, and producers Michael Nozik and Karen Tenkhoff of Wildwood Enterprises. They immediately saw the project of the Motorcycle Diaries ( Diarios de Motocicleta ) as a prime opportunity to work with Walter Salles, the director who had won the Sundance-NHK Cinema 100 grant in 1996 with the script for Central Station. Redford comments, "The Motorcycle Diaries ( Diarios de Motocicleta ) seemed like the perfect way to collaborate with Walter, especially since Che Guevara can be such a tricky subject." The director of the Motorcylce Diaries movie was already quite familiar with the book when the producers approached him to helm the film.

He explains, "Guevara's book had a real impact on me because it is about a journey to discover not only one's identity and one's place in the world, but also about the search for what I think we could call a Latin American identity. When you finish reading this book ( Motorcycles Diaries ), you have the impression that you can actually change things in the world, by understanding them and taking part. I wanted the film to convey that same sense of hope and exploration."