A bronze likeness of the Beatle, who was assassinated 33 years ago Sunday, was inaugurated in a leafy Havana park 13 years ago. But souvenir-seekers kept stealing the iconic circular spectacles that adorned it.
Officials tried gluing them on. But they should have known better: Vandals simply broke them off.
Enter Juan Gonzalez, a 95-year-old retired farm worker who lives across the street. For the last 13 years, four days a week, Gonzalez has showed up at 6 a.M. For a 12-hour shift, wearing a government security guard's uniform and cap.
Gonzalez probably didn't hear much of the Beatles in their heyday. He was already middle-aged and the communist government then frowned on rock 'n roll and its long-haired practitioners.
More From This Section
Not much of their music made it to the ears of farmers in rural Cuba and he moved to the capital only about 20 years ago to be with his daughter. But he says he's a fan now.
"All the foreigners that come here take a picture of me, both men and women. They sit here with me and take pictures," Gonzalez said. "I am in every country in the world.