EFE / via 14ymedio, 11 January 2018 — A life-size statue of English musician Paul McCartney, a former member of The Beatles, will be inaugurated next Saturday near Castillo del Morro in Santiago de Cuba — the only colonial fortress in eastern Cuba — which was visited by the composer and his family 18 years ago.
The sculpture will be located in El Morro Restaurant, on the outskirts of the popular tourist attraction of Santiago, where the author of Let It Be had lunch on 14 January 2000 with his two eldest sons, apparently attracted by the superb view of the Caribbean and the Sierra Maestra.
Paul McCartney is represented full-size and seated, using marmoline to look like bronze, explained the creator, Mariano Frómeta, who was quoted Thursday by the state-run Cuban News Agency.
The statue will be placed next to the table where the Beatle ate in the restaurant, which has preserved and exhibits the furniture and crockery used by the musician during his short visit.
On that occasion, McCartney and his children ate vegetable omelettes and drank the typical Piña Delicias cocktail, as well as the local Mayabe beer.
The words “Very good, I’ll be back,” written by the legendary guitarist on a napkin — which they also treasure — keep the workers of El Morro hoping for a possible return.
Long before the “thaw” between Cuba and the United States made it fashionable to travel to the “forbidden island,” Paul McCartney surprised passersby and musicians in Santiago de Cuba, the cradle of son and vieja trova.
McCartney toured the Castillo del Morro and visited the Pepe Sánchez Casa de la Trova in the city, where from the first row he enjoyed the a performance of traditional music and dared to play the claves, a small percussion instrument made of wood that marks the characteristic rhythm of the “clave cubana.”
Those present say that the musician went home with several albums by Cuban artists, among them the Santiago-born Eliades Ochoa, winner of a Grammy.
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