Obama's First Stop in Jamaica: Marley Museum
'I still have all the albums,' he tells guide
By Evann Gastaldo, Newser Staff
Posted Apr 9, 2015 6:24 AM CDT
(Newser) – President Obama arrived in Jamaica last night, and his first stop was the Bob Marley museum, the BBC reports. Obama is the first US president to visit Jamaica since Ronald Reagan did so in 1982, and he's apparently a big Marley fan: During his 20 minutes spent touring the Victorian-style house where the musician lived from 1975 to his death in 1981, he told the guide, "I still have all the albums." The stop was an unscheduled one, the AP reports.
Of course, Obama is technically in Jamaica not as a tourist, but to discuss energy and security issues with representatives of the 15-country-strong Caribbean Community group. He'll spend three days in the Caribbean and Central America. The AP notes that while there was great excitement in the region when he was first elected, Obama's arrival was greeted with "mostly quiet, empty streets," with locals having the feeling that the president's "interest in the region has failed to materialize." He has not been in the Caribbean since 2009.
http://www.newser.com/story/205192/obamas-first-stop-in-jamaica-marley-museum.html