海角大神

The Beatles never played a single concert in Mexico. Yet Mexicans count themselves among the world鈥檚 most dedicated fans of the boys from Liverpool.

When Paul McCartney plays a free concert in Mexico City鈥檚 sprawling Zocalo plaza Thursday night, he鈥檒l be fulfilling the dream of countless Mexicans to hear some of their favorite songs live 鈥� and not just the generation that witnessed the British invasion firsthand but their children and their grandchildren.

It鈥檚 hard for a single day to go by in Mexico City without hearing a Beatles song or something of the solo work of John, Paul, George, and Ringo. Stuck at a stoplight, the driver next door might have 鈥淩evolution鈥� turned up full volume. At a restaurant, a musician might saunter up and play a strangely accented version of 鈥淵esterday鈥� or 鈥淚magine.鈥� 鈥淪omething鈥� might serve as background music at a grocery store.

鈥淭he music of the Beatles is very fresh,鈥� said Abel 脕lvarez, manager of La Rock鈥橭la Inglesa, which organizes events for four of the most popular Beatles cover bands in Mexico City. 鈥淵ou can listen to it 10 years from now and it will still be fresh. There are many musical genres, but the Beatles will never disappear.鈥�

In 1965, the Beatles announced a possible tour in Mexico, but Mexico鈥檚 then- iron-fisted authoritarian government blocked the plan, saying that Mexico鈥檚 youth weren鈥檛 ready for an event of that magnitude. And so fans were left eternally waiting.

Perhaps that鈥檚 why Mexico holds the record for radio time dedicated to Beatles music at 12 hours weekly. Fans can listen to Universal radio鈥檚 鈥淐lub de Los Beatles鈥� every morning during rush hour; the station also sponsors an actual fan club which claims 1 million card-carrying members. The program鈥檚 host plays everything from the group鈥檚 happy early hits to its more dissonant, obscure later work.

On Tuesday, McCartney played to 70,000 ecstatic fans who withstood a falling mist in Mexico City鈥檚 massive Azteca stadium. The city said in a statement that it will admit 80,000 people to Thursday night鈥檚 show in the Zocalo and plans to install seven giant screens on adjacent streets to accommodate fans.

The Zocalo marks the center of what was once Tenochtitlan, the home of the Aztec empire. Today the city and national government palaces flank its eastern and southern sides. A grand cathedral dating to the Spanish conquest, and the ruins of an Aztec pyramid known as the Templo Mayor, stand side by side on the northern edge.

脕lvarez, who attended McCartney鈥檚 stadium concert, noted that popular ballad singer Vicente Fernandez holds the attendance record for a concert in the Zocalo at 170,000 spectators. He expects McCartney will blow past that.

鈥淣ow that it鈥檚 free, I think there will be people coming from all over the country,鈥� he said.

The city began closing streets around the Zocalo earlier this week and, to prevent campouts, authorities were expected to seal the plaza Wednesday night.

鈥淚n 1965, young people waited for the Beatles like they waited for an awakening of human consciousness, a change in totalitarian regimes, a change in the political and democratic structures that for many still haven鈥檛 arrived,鈥� wrote Jos茅 Antonio Mart铆nez in a recent article in Mexico City鈥檚 Frente magazine, which included an interview with McCartney.

Mart铆nez, host of another weekly radio program called 鈥淏eatle鈥� and the co-creator of a documentary called 鈥淲aiting for Los Bitles,鈥� [link with English subtitles] wrote that while investigating the film he discovered 鈥渁n unquestionable idealization of a band that people had never seen and never would see, yearned for as if it would reappear at any moment.鈥�

McCartney鈥檚 free show in the cultural heart of the country may be the closest fans will ever come.

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