My experience with the Beatles has likely been very different than that of most people, especially avid Beatles enthusiasts I have met this semester. John, Paul, George, and Ringo first arrived in the United States on February 7, 1964. Since the moment they landed at JFK Airport, they began feeling the love from fans eagerly awaiting their arrival. The stage was set for "Beatle-mania" to take hold in the U.S., and it sure did. The Beatles were embraced by the entire country, and the rest is history. Just five years prior to the band's arrival in New York City, however, communist dictator Fidel Castro overthrew Fulgencio Batista's administration and took power in Cuba. He established the first communist regime in the Western hemisphere, and under his rule thousands of Cubans were removed from their homes and held as political prisoners for speaking out against his oppressive system. My grandparents were among these oppressed citizens, and right around the time that the Beatles arrived in New York, my grandparents left Cuba and fled to the United States. They knew nothing of the Beatles, and they barely spoke English as it was. By the time they were able to establish themselves in the United States and have kids, it was the 70's. As a result, my parents were more influenced by artists of the 80's like Madonna and Prince while they were growing up. Of course they had heard of the Beatles, but the British band was for the most part before their time. In turn, the Beatles also had very little influence in my life, and I didn't even hear about them until I was in high school.
             By the time I started my freshman year at the University of Florida, I was well aware of the fact that the Beatles were one of the greatest and most influential bands in history. I just didn't understand why. I had listened to a few of their songs here and there, but I couldn't see what made them so great and so famous....