I bet you had no idea it’s been 50 years since the Beatles traveled to America for their appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. Well, let me be the first to tell ya, ladies and gents. For a firsthand account on a Beatles-related attraction I could tell you about that time I worked (okay, more like volunteered…but whatever) in Liverpool and was forced to act like a tourist not once, but twice by going on the Magical Mystery Bus Tour, but don’t worry I won’t. I’m too lazy to find the photographs and also don’t particularly want to relive the experience. Instead I will tell you about the largest collection of Beatles memorabilia that went on display in a museum in Buenos Aires, Argentina about three years ago. Rodolfo Vazquez, a 53-year-old accountant, turned his mammoth Beatles collection into a museum, called the Museo Beatle, with more than 8,500 objects – setting the new world record for the largest collection of Beatles memorabilia. Congratulations! The museum is part of a collection of buildings, including a replica of Liverpool’s famed Cavern Club and a nearby theatre named after John Lennon. Some of the items on display at the museum include a box of condoms bearing the names of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, a brick from the Cavern Club, an original tile from Strawberry Fields, a chunk of the stage from the Star Club in Hamburg, checks signed by George and Ringo, a letter from Aunt Mimi talking to a friend about John, certified copies of the band members’ birth certificates, and of course the entire American discography. Among his favorite items are 64 boxes of chewing gum in the form of Beatles records. Now that’s something you can really chew on!
The Museo Beatle – Buenos Aires, Argentina
