In one of the parks in Cuba, there is a bronze sculpture of the former Beatles member John Lennon. He is seen sitting on the left-hand side of the bench, which is also bronze. On a marble tile at the foot of the bench, there is an inscription reading: "Dirás que soy un soñador pero no soy el único" – John Lennon, which is a Spanish translation of the English lyrics, "You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one," from the song "Imagine."
As of 2024, Lennon is not wearing his signature round-lens glasses, which have been stolen or vandalized several times. To date, his glasses have been stolen nine times, and to prevent this from happening again, a security guard has been posted near the sculpture. The statue was unveiled on December 8, 2000, the 20th anniversary of Lennon's murder.
Now! There have been many stories about how John ended up sitting on a bench in Cuba. Here is the truth!
We know that Fidel Castro did not like John Lennon or the Beatles. We had the pleasure of interviewing Cuban General Montoya before his death. Who was General Montoya? He was the general sent by Fidel Castro to rescue Ernesto Che Guevara from the Congo. When he returned to Cuba with Che, they remained friends right up until Che was killed in Bolivia.
General Montoya told us that in Cuba, there was a big following for the Beatles and John Lennon, and Fidel Castro was being pressured to put up some kind of monument to show support for John Lennon and all the demonstrations he took part in about the Vietnam War.
Fidel decided that it would be a good idea to show that anybody who was against the USA and their wars was a friend to him and that he supported them. The statue was only put up to get one back on the USA and nothing more.
The photos we have were taken on the day it was shown to the world—December 8, 2000.
