Beatles Statues in Callejón Liverpool, Mazatlán

The Beatles statues in Mazatlán stand in Callejón Liverpool, a short alley off Paseo Olas Altas in the historic centre. Sculptor Óscar Ponzanelli cast the four band members in bronze, crossing the street as on the Abbey Road cover. The city opened the alley on 8 December 2021 to draw tourists; the band never had a connection to Mazatlán.

Why there are Beatles in Mazatlán

There's no Beatles story behind this one. El Imparcial points out that the port has no connection to the band at all and calls the project a tourism draw. The alley used to be called Callejón Malpica. The city renamed it Liverpool, after the band's home town, and filled it with Beatles references.

Mayor Luis Guillermo Benítez Torres said he wanted to "globalize" Mazatlán and give cruise passengers somewhere they had to stop. He called the alley the first piece of a cultural corridor through the historic centre, with more artworks to come.

Two openings

The municipality opened the alley on 8 December 2021, the anniversary of John Lennon's death, with drone light shapes in the sky and an orchestra playing Beatles songs.

About seven weeks later, on 28 January 2022, it was opened again. Mexico's federal tourism secretary, Miguel Torruco Marqués, led an official inauguration with Sinaloa's tourism secretary and the mayor, with fireworks. The city's culture institute said that day that more than 20,000 people had already visited, about 300 a day. So if you see 2021 in one article and 2022 in another, both are right.

What's in the alley

Ponzanelli's four bronze figures cross the alley as the band crossed the road on the 1969 Abbey Road cover. There's room to fall in line with them for a photo.

The rest of the alley works as a set. There's a copy of the Cavern Club front with old concert posters, a red British phone box, a red Mini Cooper S and a Yellow Submarine. Ocean Rodríguez was the creative designer, and Sherwin-Williams donated the paint. The alley is only a few metres from the sea.

Other Beatles tributes in the region

Mexico has at least one tribute with more history behind it. In Puebla, students named a block after Lennon in 1982, and its plaque has been stolen and replaced. Further south are the Lennon bench in Havana and the statue in San José, Costa Rica. For the real crossing, see the Abbey Road zebra crossing in London.