The actor who has portrayed Juan Valdez, the famous Colombian coffee farmer, is retiring after 37 years of promoting Colombian coffee to the world. His real name is Carlos Sanchez, and he's now 71 years old. Sanchez has played the Juan Valdez character since 1969.

I remember seeing this guy in tv commercials when I was a kid. It never occurred to me that Juan Valdez was a ficticious character. I guess it's just product marketing, like everything else these days. And of course, it's only the actor who is going away; Colombia's coffee federation is trying to find a new person to portray Juan Valdez.

More info from bbc.co.uk: Colombian coffee icon steps down