{"id":316588,"date":"2025-01-16T18:27:35","date_gmt":"2025-01-16T23:27:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=316588"},"modified":"2025-01-16T18:34:03","modified_gmt":"2025-01-16T23:34:03","slug":"five-hours-with-paul-mccartney-in-santiago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/culture\/music-culture\/five-hours-with-paul-mccartney-in-santiago\/","title":{"rendered":"Five hours with Paul McCartney in Santiago"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was January 14, 2000. Despite the apocalyptic predictions that frightened millions of people with the supposed end of the world due to the arrival of the new millennium, life went on as usual. After ten in the morning, Santiago de Cuba\u2019s sun was already rolling like an elastic marble on the runway of the Antonio Maceo Airport, when a private jet made its instant appearance. The purring of the engine faded and the steps began to unfold.<\/span><\/p>\n

With firm steps and a smile that exuded charisma, Mar\u00eda Elena Su\u00e1rez, an employee of International Traffic, walked up the ramp to the white Cessna to receive the tourist and lead him to the protocol room of the air terminal. The figure that emerged from inside the aircraft was unmistakable, but she did not immediately notice his aura of a star.<\/span><\/p>\n

He came \u201cdisguised.\u201d He wore black plastic glasses, a baseball cap, a blue shirt with sleeves rolled up to the elbows, beige pleated pants, and a pair of sandals. Other employees did suspect from the beginning, since they noticed a certain resemblance to a famous person. However, they continued to be incredulous that it was him. What was someone of his stature doing in Cuba? Did he arrive without anyone announcing it\u2026not even the press?<\/span><\/p>\n

It was all very strange. When they checked the passports, the mystery ended and the magic happened. \u201cJames Paul McCartney,\u201d Maria Elena read and looked at him in astonishment, trying to associate that aged face with the rebellious boy with the \u201cpumpkin\u201d hairstyle she had seen in music videos on TV: \u201cYes, the one from the Beatles,\u201d the newcomer clarified pleasantly.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The Beatles. Photo: Taken from La Jiribilla.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He was accompanied by his daughter Stella, a renowned fashion designer, his son James Louis, who followed in his father\u2019s footsteps in music, and the pilot. Then Maria Elena, as if struck by lightning, understood the magnitude of the moment: she was the first Cuban person to interact with Sir Paul McCartney, a British knight and living rock legend for the legendary quartet he formed with John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Star.<\/span><\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/p>\n

The small aircraft that brought McCartney arrived from Providenciales, in the Turks and Caicos Islands, a British overseas territory southeast of the Bahamas. On the eve of the flight, Ariel Pevida received an email from InterIsland Airways, headed by Mr. Lyndon Gardiner. Not only did they ask him to organize the trip, they also begged him to make sure everything went perfectly since it was someone from the world of show business.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI made the pertinent verifications with the Institute of Civil Aeronautics in Havana and with the Santiago airport stations; in fact, they already had the authorization. From there I asked the Cubanac\u00e1n travel agency to provide an excellent tour guide because it was a special client, without going into details,\u201d Pevida, who was then responsible for coordinating the tour, recalled to <\/span>OnCuba<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOnce the formalities were completed, I considered that my work in that operation was finished. I never knew who the famous passenger was. I found out once he landed in Santiago. I admire the music of The Beatles, but I was never interested in meeting any of them individually. Ah, but if it were to see them in a quartet, I would have moved heaven and earth to see them,\u201d he adds.<\/span><\/p>\n

For his part, Onil N\u00e1poles, director of the Antonio Maceo airport at the time of the arrival, specifies: \u201cThe story is that the pilot had been to Santiago several times, taking celebrities. Paul told him that he wanted to see Cuba and the pilot suggested going to Santiago. He made a reservation in the lounge and that\u2019s where it all began. They put him in a bus with a guide and he went on a tour of several iconic spots in the city. Our role was to welcome him and see him off upon his return. We gave him several types of Cuban rum. \u2018I\u2019m going to be drunk until November,\u2019 he said in perfect Spanish and invited us to take a photo with him.\u201d McCartney had studied the language and spoke it quite fluently.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Back of the airport director\u2019s lapel autographed by Paul McCartney. Photo: Courtesy of Onil N\u00e1poles.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Carlos Manuel Rivera captured the image of the Beatles with a group of airport workers. Like the barefoot man on the zebra crossing in Abbey Road or the black carnation going down the stairs in <\/span>Your Mother <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Should Know<\/span><\/i>, Paul is once again the \u201cstrange\u201d man in the photo. Not only does he look \u201csquashed\u201d (he is almost 1.80 meters tall), but, trying to hide his identity, he had put on some dark glasses with a certain \u201cMartian vibe\u201d that turned out to be significantly striking. Paul always stands out, no matter the setting. This is the best-known photograph or the only one published on social media of his journey through Santiago.<\/span><\/p>\n

No paparazzi were chasing him nor were these the current times, when everyone has a cell phone in hand. The story would have been different. And the hysteria. However, that is not the \u201conly\u201d photographic record that exists of the fleeting stay, as has been wrongly maintained during these two decades. In fact, Paul took several pictures, politely signed as many autographs as he could, and smiled when some confident Santiago resident shouted \u201cJohn\u201d (Lennon) or \u201cYesterday.\u201d But, probably out of respect for his express request for privacy, they were shelved. Perhaps one day new evidence will come to light, but in the interesting book <\/span>El Sargento Pimienta vino a Cuba en un submarino amarillo<\/span><\/i> (Sergeant Pepper came to Cuba in a yellow submarine), by journalist Ernesto Juan Castellanos, published in 2000, details of the visit are collected and a graphic appendix containing three curious photographs of Paul in Santiago: one walking down the street with his children and the others at the Casa de la Trova.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/p>\n

The guide turned out to be Walfrido \u00c1lvarez, who, taking into account the interests of the illustrious traveler \u2014 especially considering that he wanted to maintain the greatest possible discretion \u2014 demonstrated his qualities as a magnificent professional and improvised a tour of barely four hours, ensuring that the visitor could take away in that short time the most complete panoramic view of the eastern city. With its noble facades from the colonial era, cheerfully illuminated by the day, the graceful and hospitable physiognomy of its people, and without the extreme nervous tension of the great capital, Santiago became for Paul, without intending it, the face of the country.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Morro Castle Museum, tarnished by centuries of sun and salt, was the first destination of the tour. Together with his guide and his children, McCartney climbed to the platform of the Sant\u00edsima Trinidad, the highest point of this vintage rock architecture, from where one is usually fascinated by the legends of the fortification declared a World Heritage Site in 1998 and can even see the spirits of the naval battle still wandering through that Mediterranean landscape of supernatural beauty.<\/span><\/p>\n

When leaving, Paul wrote in the book of distinguished visitors: \u201cOl\u00e1. Many thanks. Viva la Revolution!!\u201d The possibility that the Liverpool native born in 1942 dedicated such a phrase has been questioned by some antagonistic people. However, it was real and appears recorded in the book <\/span>El Sargento Pimienta..<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Taken from the book \u201cEl Sargento Pimienta\u2026\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the picturesque souvenir kiosks, located in the vicinity of the castle, he bought a couple of Cuban-themed T-shirts. Invited by the guide, he went to lunch at the nearby restaurant El Morro. According to the voucher that the clerk Reina Reyes gave to the chef Santiago T\u00e9llez, the requested menu consisted of three tortillas with cheese, bread, mixed salads, rice, plantain chatinos. For dessert: ice cream and coffee. Reina would note in a <\/span>documentary<\/span><\/a>\u00a0series that he liked the chocolate ice cream a lot, and that she also served him a Mayabe beer and a Delicias brand pineapple cocktail.<\/span><\/p>\n

Eighteen years later, next to table number seven used by McCartney and family for that graceful lunch by the Caribbean Sea, a life-size statue of the musician was placed. It is the work of the Santiago sculptor Mariano Fr\u00f3meta Stevens. \u201cI used marble with a bronze patina and, as you can see, Paul, sitting, rests one arm on the table while the other rests below. There I tried to reflect on the relaxing posture, and the phlegm that characterizes the Englishman, in addition to listening to the suggestions of those who work at the restaurant and were there that day. Yes, I do like The Beatles. They are classics and my generation knew their music very well. They are unrepeatable,\u201d declared the plastic artist in 2018 to Miguel \u00c1ngel Ga\u00ednza, cultural journalist of the provincial weekly <\/span>Sierra Maestra<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Objects used by the musician during his lunch that were preserved as museum relics. Photo: Courtesy of Joseph Crespo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
The chair he used in the restaurant, with a bronze plaque on the back. Photo: Taken from Hubert Delestre\u2019s Facebook profile.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As an exceptional attraction, the restaurant kept the chair, plate and cutlery used by Paul, as well as his thanks printed on a napkin: \u201cGracias. Muy bueno.\u201d Some affirms he said: \u201cVolver\u00e9.\u201d They are still waiting for him there.<\/span><\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/p>\n

The experience at El Morro and the restaurant were the perfect appetizer. The main course: the historic center of Santiago. Cuba\u2019s musical trail led him to the Pepe S\u00e1nchez Casa de la Trova, in the very heart of the city.<\/span><\/p>\n

At about one in the afternoon, the minibus he was riding in parked on one side of C\u00e9spedes Park, on the corner in front of the Bank. McCartney and company had to cross the square in front of the Cathedral on foot, take the sidewalk in front of the Casagranda Hotel, and jump over the narrow Heredia Street to enter the traditional mansion. One of the passers-by who saw him at that moment was Vincent Guillon, a Frenchman captivated by the trova: \u201cIt was about twelve o\u2019clock when I was walking along Heredia and I suddenly saw a crowd. I thought it was a row, a robbery or something like that, when a man who was with his family given way, I don\u2019t remember if there were five of them. I didn\u2019t recognize him right away, he was wearing a cap and dark glasses, but I did notice a very peculiar walk, very Anglo-Saxon.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Paul, on the right of the photo, walking along Heredia Street with his two children. Photo: Taken from the book \u201cEl Sargento Pimienta\u2026\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The first thing the Beatle did when he crossed the threshold of the Casa was to take an interest in the catalog and buy a dozen homemade records. Among them, titles by Benny Mor\u00e9, Eliades Ochoa, Sindo Garay, orchestras from the 1950s, guajiras, Los Guanches, Septeto Turquino; while his children bought CDs of popular dance music: Los Van Van, Arag\u00f3n, NG la Banda and Adalberto \u00c1lvarez y su Son.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
In profile, in the Artex store at the entrance to the Casa de la Trova. Photo: Taken from the book \u201cEl Sargento Pimienta\u2026\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At that time, the then quintet Moneda Nacional, directed by Daniel Castillo, was playing traditional music with flavor. \u201cIt turns out that we had already finished work that day and we were collecting the instruments when the director of the Casa de la Trova appeared. He asked us to stay a little longer because Paul McCartney had arrived at the airport and they had told him he wanted to go to the Casa de la Trova,\u201d recalls Daniel Cos, who was the tres player of the group.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cImagine, they didn\u2019t pay for it, but for us, it was an honor to play for such an important figure in the world of music. I remember that he came in and stayed at the back, discreetly reclining. He arrived with a cap and glasses, and since we were used to seeing him with long hair, we almost didn\u2019t recognize him. Then the place started to fill up with people who had already found out who was there and then he came to sit in the front row. I was concentrating on playing and I couldn\u2019t pay attention to everything he did or said, and many years have passed and the details are lost, but I think he was pleased with the time he spent with us,\u201d says Cos.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another exceptional witness of the half-hour that Paul enjoyed between sones and guarachas in that remarkable atmosphere was the outstanding singer-songwriter Jos\u00e9 Aquiles. \u201cI had just passed by La Trova, where my colleague Ren\u00e9 Urquijo approached me: \u2018Hey, stay in the area, they say that Paul McCartney arrived in a small aircraft and is coming here.\u2019\u00a0 I thought it was a joke, I didn\u2019t believe it and I went home to have lunch. I was in the middle of that when the phone rang. It was the director of the Casa de la Trova, Julio Dom\u00ednguez, insisting that it was real. Julio was a serious person, so I got on my motorcycle and headed off there,\u201d Aquiles recalls. Even so, the fear that it was a \u201cjoke\u201d did not leave him the whole way.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I saw him at the door of the Casa de la Trova, it seemed incredible to me. I said to Julio Dom\u00ednguez: \u2018Look at him there. That\u2019s the man.\u2019\u00a0 The first thing he did was stop at the little Artex store, to the right of the entrance, to ask about the records for sale. Urquijo and I had the chance to talk to him there. He told us that he knew Cuban music. In the middle of that exchange, two boys appeared with a camera and hid behind some clothes hangers to surreptitiously take photos of him. I think I saw one in a book. When Paul realized, as he didn\u2019t want that publicity, he went into the main room for the performance of Moneda Nacional.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Autographed message with a caricature left at the Casa de la Trova in Santiago. Photo: Courtesy of \u00c1ngel Rotger.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Another of the urban legends that have come to light is that Paul \u201cplayed Cuban music with claves,\u201d when in reality he only accompanied the beat with his hands. \u201cHe never had a clave in his hand, but I did see that he \u2018swayed\u2019 in his chair. He followed the rhythm,\u201d Guillon said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Aquiles sat right behind the honoree. \u201cHe showed identification with the Cuban clave. At the end, he signed an autograph on a page of the identity card, which was the booklet kind. I can tell you that there were people outside, looking through the barred windows, who never realized that Paul McCartney was sitting there. This is in summary what we experienced at La Trova. That was how that afternoon time stopped and the moment became eternal. Now that <\/span>One Hundred Years of Solitude<\/span><\/i> is in fashion, I would say that for me that was part of the magical realism of Santiago,\u201d says Aquiles, letting out a slight laugh.<\/span><\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/p>\n

They say that he went everywhere humming or whistling softly. Paul McCartney also visited the cigar factory in La Alameda, where he exchanged with the cigar rollers and asked for \u201creal\u201d Cuban cigars, the ones that cost a peso. He passed by the old Moncada barracks, the Antonio Maceo Plaza de la Revoluci\u00f3n, and the Capitulation Tree in San Juan. Then the minibus took the same route, along the ring road, to the airport.<\/span><\/p>\n

When the people of Santiago \u201cwoke up,\u201d the Beatle was no longer there. They were caught off guard. At about four in the afternoon, Paul McCartney left for his paradise in Providenciales. The visit that many Beatle lovers had always dreamed of took place incognito, 969 kilometers from Havana. The national press, immersed in the campaign for the return of the child Eli\u00e1n Gonz\u00e1lez, did not mention the event until a week later. \u201cPaul McCartney, former member of the Beatles, visited this city from Margarita Island, Venezuela, intending to get in touch with the roots of Cuban music and the hospitality of its people. The mythical figure of world song only spent a few hours in the eastern city, where he arrived in his private aircraft, although he made a fruitful tour,\u201d reported <\/span>Granma<\/span><\/i> on January 23.<\/span><\/p>\n

Paul McCartney, one of the most influential artists of contemporary times, crowned the modern cultural history of Santiago with his presence. The emotion of the privileged witnesses was authentic. Even though the music of the British band had been disdained and almost persecuted years ago, the legacy of the Beatles had its clandestine sanctuary in the soul of the island.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNostalgia is still the same as before,\u201d Garc\u00eda M\u00e1rquez judged in an article on Lennon\u2019s death. There he expressed: \u201cI have the impression that the world was the same from my birth until the Beatles began to sing. Everything changed then.\u201d Without wishing to tarnish Gabo\u2019s foresight, nostalgia is no longer what it seems, it is not that of his time. Fewer and fewer people have the good fortune to revel in the pastoral melancholy of memory, especially when the mind has so many emerging and serious dilemmas to resolve. That is why, a quarter of a century later, few \u2015 even among those who say they are under the power of Beatlemania \u2015 will remember the five hours that the genius Paul McCartney spent in Santiago de Cuba.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

25 years after the \u201csecret\u201d and fleeting visit of the only Beatle to have ever set foot in Cuba, witnesses of that day share their experiences.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12346255,"featured_media":316584,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13923],"tags":[34969,19256,34970],"ppma_author":[34888],"class_list":["post-316588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music-culture","tag-beatles","tag-featured","tag-paul-mccartney"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFive hours with Paul McCartney in Santiago | OnCubaNews English<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"25 years after the \u201csecret\u201d and fleeting visit of the only Beatle to have ever set foot in Cuba, witnesses of that day share their experiences.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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