I am Lee Marvin

Yesterday, a store manager in the airport motioned for me to come to her candy counter. In a loud whisper and with big green eyes, she asked, "Are you a movie star?"

"Huh? Sorry. Are you talking to me?" I said. I almost burst out laughing, but, considering that anything that is weird can and will happen here, I simply stared and waited for whatever was to come next.

"I have some friends, some foreigners who are waiting for their plane. They identified you as Lee Marvin. And since I like to meet all of the stars, I wanted to meet you."

"I see. Well, thank you. That is nice to hear. But, actually, I'm not an actor at all."

"You look like him, they say, and I'd like to ask for your autograph and a picture. Come to my restaurant tonight. It is right behind the church."

Remembering the Dirty Dozen, I felt a surge of energy because I admired the idea of Lee taking the criminals, building a fighting force that learned to work and even love one another. Long ago, others had compared me to Lee, but, somehow this was different. This was in a foreign country, far from Hollywood. And I no longer was determined to hide or deny my looks. Many tell me I look just like my dad and I am dismayed to not be just Tito. And, to be like Lee is to have big lips and a sad brow. So I was in denial of the likenesses. But, now that Dad is no longer here and neither is Lee, I am ready to shoulder the distinction. When Dad died, I realized that, thank God, there was still someone with his good looks. His bald head is my bald head and his lips are mine. As for Lee, his raging and shooting could be my metaphorical trip through life.

The shop owner´s name is Marianna Avila. She told me that, since 1985, she has met most of the stars who have visited the Galapagos. At first, I simply nodded when she invited me to her bar. But, at 8:00, I found myself with nothing to do. So I biked over to the church and into a yard with circular tables and umbrellas. Behind the tables was a door that opened into a living room. There, a large guy (who reminded me of Marco) was examining his new Fuji camera. It turned out that Rodrigo, her nephew, as back from his life in Brooklyn, NY. He offered to make me a mojito complete with her fresh ingredients.

El Barquero advertises itself as "the oldest bar in the Galapagos, with 20 years of experience, visited by local, national, international, and Hollywood celebrities. It is not much in the way of a bar, rather, more of a living room with a little garden. She was so happy I had come and immediately took out various cell phones and snapped pictures of herself and me. Lee was honored with an entire page. She added my a list of my best films and notes on my life. I signed: "Love You! Lee Marvin aka Tito Craige"

Turns out she has hosted Richard Gere and Angelina Jolie, among hundreds of others.

We looked up Lee on the internet and discovered that he had died in '87, at the age of 63. But now, on Thanksgiving of 2009, Lee, like Lazarus, he is alive again.