I finally made it to Cuba -- nearly 60 years after first trying. It was Christmas Vacation during my senior year at Brooklyn College. Five members of Knight House – the poor folks version of a live at home fraternity at my commuter college –decided to visit Havana. Our motives were not entirely pure. Yes, we wanted to see the old City of Havana and its cultural gems. But we had also wanted to participate in its notorious nightlife. We were 20 years old and seeking post-adolescent adventures of the sort we couldn't experience back in Brooklyn.
We never made it. When we got to the Miami airport for the half-hour, $50 flight, we were greeted by a State Department Travel advisory. It seems like another young man – just a dozen years older than we were – was also trying to get to Havana. He had been trying for several years and finally – on the very day we were departing Miami for Havana -- Fidel Castro and his revolutionary army were at the outskirts of the city
Disappointed, we returned to Miami Beach where we had to be satisfied with Jai Alai and crowded beaches. Years later I learned that members of a rival house plan, undeterred by a mere "advisory," had taken the flight to Havana and partaken of its vices – vices which were soon to end, or be driven underground by Castro's revolution.
The disappointed young man who didn't make it to Cuba in 1958 is now an old man, with different tastes and tamer vices, such as an occasional cigar and a Cuba Libra drink. Among my passions now are art and music, and Cuba excels at both. So my wife and I, with three other couples, set out on an age-appropriate adventure as part of a "people-to-people" cultural group. Travelers still need an acceptable "justification" to visit the long-boycotted destination. Mere tourism or the love of beaches won't do. It has to be cultural, religious, educational or some other broad category of virtuous pursuit. You still can't go there for the reasons we had in mind back when Castro had kept us involuntarily virtuous.
So we went to visit the studios and houses of Cuban artists -- some established, others young and on the way to achieving international recognition. The visits were fascinating, as the artist regaled us with stories of their own experiences with increasing artistic freedom, as Cuban Artists became part of the international art market. This made some of them quite rich, at least as compared with average wages for other occupations including lawyers and doctors.
The artists also told us of the increasing acceptance of homosexuality, which had been criminalized and repressed by Fidel Castro. (Interestingly, even during the worst periods of anti-gay repression, the American hard left rarely criticized Castro because he, too, was hard left.) Now, Raul Castro's daughter is leading a movement for equal rights for gay Cubans.
Other positive changes were also visible. Tourism is thriving, and tour guides are among the growing middle class, along with home-owners who rent out apartments to tourists. With tourism comes increasing capitalism and freedom of communication. We heard a diversity of views, including some critical ones, from Cubans we encountered. But we sensed some remaining constraints on full freedom of expression.
On Friday night some of us attended a beautiful Shabbat service at the local Synagogue. There was no Rabbi, so the service was led by a group of teenage visitors from Argentina. The dining room table was set for 80 expected guests, who would feast on chicken and other delicacies not easily available to most locals. The woman who heads the Jewish Community proudly described a recent visit to the synagogue by Raul Castro, who she said had a warm spot in his heart for Jews, if not for Israel, with which Cuba has no formal relations.
Tourist resorts and restaurants are filled, and the food – mostly continental with a Cuban influence – is quite good. Prices are reasonable, compared to large U.S. cities, but unaffordable to all but a select few locals.
The night life is vibrant, with Las Vegas-type spectacles at the old Flamingo, as well as jazz at bars. The 1950's mafia controlled hotels – The National, and others like it – have been refurbished and made ready for the anticipated influx of American tourists, as travel restrictions are lifted.
On the negative side, the effects of the failed Communist economy were evident. Beautiful old buildings – many of them architectural gems – were in disrepair, some of them crumbling.
The Cuban people suffered from the excesses of exploitive mafia influenced authoritarianism under Fulgencio Batista, and then from the excesses of tyrannical Communism under Fidel Castro. What the future holds is uncertain, but to this American visitor, it feels like the Cuban people may be somewhat better off today than they were under either extreme. They still have a long way to go.
Looks like a great place for a vacation.
Nice photos-- but not enough about the cars!
(Buzz I know you can't view videos... I'll look for some still photos & post them).
LINKS:
1. Photos: Coches de Cuba
2. Article & Photos: Why Does Cuba Have So Many Classic Cars?
If you want to take a step back into automotive time, then you need to go to Cuba. That’s a rule in the automotive industry. Havana itself is beautiful, with its brightly colored—if slightly dusty—buildings and milling streets, but there is nothing quite as beautiful as seeing a line of classic cars sitting at an intersection like it’s no big deal.
Cuba is literally a rolling car museum. Everywhere you look is an old-school American brand vehicle, ranging from Oldsmobile to Chevrolet , Buick to Ford with a nice sampling of Chrysler’s old Plymouth brand. There’s even a few Russian Volgas thrown in the mix. These are all vehicles that the majority of American car lovers would spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on—and they are used as Cubans’ everyday vehicles (cont'd)
3. More Photos: (link)
I hope the classic cars stay, but I am afraid they will go away. Sad.
Why? Do you think the Cubans will start getting imports of new cars? The question is whether they can afford them. Some who are benefitting from the tourist trade might, but I doubt that the vast majority will be able to.
I think that many of them will end up in the hands of collectors from other countries.
I think you are right. Some could be worth considerably more than a new car would cost to replace them, so it could be a boon to the Cuban owners. Importing a car from overseas is done often. At one time, when I was fairly well off, I contemplated shipping a classic Rolls Royce from England. There were stories about them being found in barns and old garages there, and one of my clients was a Brit who was employed by A.V.Roe (Avro airplanes - remember the Avro Arrow) who was familiar with Rolls Royces and was going to help me.
Some Military personal have done similar things or at least those who were well off before they joined. I think one would be surprised at the number of people who are well off and actually serve, especially in the enlisted ranks. You rarely hear of them because they don't present themselves as such and keep it to themselves.
Do you think the Cubans will start getting imports of new cars?
That probably depends if the current regime allows in imports.
And in even the poorest countries, especially totalitarian ones, there is always a wealthy elite.
(Did you know that there is even a Mercedes dealership in . . . Gaza? Someone in Gaza has the money to buy Mercedes ....)
I suppose the regime will loosen up on trade restrictions, as freer trade would benefit both countries economically.
The Cubans had no choice but to maintain their cars in good shape because they had no way to obtain news ones. Cuba would be a great place for classic car fans to visit. What surprises me is that due to the salty sea air one would think the cars would rust within a few years, but that does not seem to be the case. Here are a couple more photos:
Salt air is very corrosive over time. But I suppose there are waxes you can apply on the paint, and probably some sort of coating that can be sprayed on the bottom...?
(I seem to remember a Simonize product from way back....and by now there must be improved coating to use near sea air).
I know I see several in the pictures and in the video that I wish I could just drive, let alone own! Like I could afford one.
Me too. Forthunately I learned to drive with a manual gearshift, even once drove a classic Rolls Royce for a day that had to be double-clutched.
I learned on a manual too. 1956 Willys Jeep.
Here are 10 examples of classic cars in Cuba that collectors would probably pay lots to have:
Starting with a couple of Cadillac convertibles - 1959 and 1956?
An old Mercedes-Benz
An Edsel convertible should be fairly rare.
An old Citroen
I'm not sure about what this is.
Nor do I know what this make is.
Buicks are easy
This T-Bird should get a fair buck.
1959 Chevy - I don't remember seeing them with that kind of back door.
I've never seen that kind of back door on a Chevy or on any American station wagon? Maybe the owner customized it. If it came from the factory like that it should really up the price on it for it's rarity!
I'm glad to see the Edsel. I always thought they got a raw deal and just were not promoted right. My uncle had one and it ran perfectly for years. When the salt roads of Michigan rusted out the back of it he sliced the back part of the body off and used some planks to convert it to a flat bed pick up truck and drove it for years more. Said it was the best car he ever bought.
Here's a close-up of that Chevy wagon back door. It DOES look like it was customized, because it's a little out of kilter and you can see the seams where the original lift door was, especially on the tail lights. As well, the bumper was cut to provide room for a step (runningboard?). Actually, it probably would not get much of a price because it isn't original.
You're right. Customized and not really all that well done. Shame.