Obama Plays Tourist at Bob Marley Museum
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MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images(KINGSTON, Jamaica) — President Obama paid homage to a Jamaican legend Wednesday night, making an impromptu stop at the Bob Marley museum in Kingston, Jamaica.
The president arrived in Kingston late Wednesday night — officially kicking off his three day trip to Jamaica and Panama. There he was greeted by several Jamaican lawmakers, including the Jamaican Ambassador Luis Moreno, Governor General Patrick Allen, and Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller.
Only still photographers were allowed inside as the president toured the museum, which was once Marley’s home. A sign outside the museum read: “NO smoking, eating, drinking, cameras, cell phones.”
With Marley’s song “One Love” playing overhead, cameras captured video of the president walking out the front doors of the museum.
“What a wonderful tour,” the president said to a woman.
The museum is located in Marley’s old home, which the reggae artist purchased in 1975. It was converted into a museum by his wife in 1987, six years after Marley’s death.
The website says the entry fee to the museum is $20 for non-resident adults. It’s unclear if the president had to fork over twenty bucks for his late night tour of Brother Bob’s stomping grounds.
In a 2012 interview with MTV, President Obama paid tribute to Marley, saying that while he didn’t agree with his “whole philosophy,” the legendary singer raised his awareness of “the struggles for jobs and dignity and freedom.”
“I can remember when I was in college, listening and, you know, not agreeing with his whole philosophy necessarily, but raising my awareness about how people outside of our country were thinking about the struggles for jobs and dignity and freedom,” Obama said of Marley in 2012.
Prior to visiting the museum, the president met privately with U.S. embassy personnel and their families.
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