About Those Cars

Probably the most iconic images of Cuba are of the 1950s-era American cars. Many of them have been restored — how, I have no clue, since there’s been an embargo on any parts and equipment for many years. You have to credit Cuban ingenuity for keeping these cars running without access to genuine replacement parts. With the sorry state of streets and roadways, it’s a miracle that the suspension systems don’t simply give out.

There were more beautiful automobiles than I expected to see, many of them employed as taxis, their proud owners buffing them up as they waited for customers.

The details are fun to shoot.

We took a spin one day that was cut short by a rain shower that turned into a deluge as we scrambled to put the top up. But we made up for it with a cruise through the tunnel spanning Havana Harbor, finding a panoramic landscape of the city from the fortifications on the other side, and a look at the Christ Statue, modeled after the one in Rio (and much smaller)

Back on the Malecòn later that day, we stopped to chat with some fishermen. One shared a great deal about his life and situation. Like everyone we met, he has never been off the island.

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