Beautiful Cuban Americans in 2024
Getting from point A to point B in Cuba remains a daily challenge. Cubans have never had an excess of cars at their disposal. Waiting for a bus or other means of public transportation can easily represent a considerable part of the day, often wasted, although one gets used to it over time.
Owning a private car in 2024 is still a rare and precious privilege in Cuba.
In the 1950s, Cuba, and Havana in particular, had the largest proportion of imported cars from the United States relative to its population. Today, nearly 200,000 vintage cars continue to drive around the country, transforming the island into a veritable rolling museum, unique in the world.
Time has stopped for these cars, but they continue to circulate.
Old American cars are silent witnesses to Cuba's recent history. After the interruption of diplomatic relations with the United States and the impossibility of importing spare parts or modern vehicles, except for Soviet models, Cubans have had to show incredible ingenuity to keep these cars in working order.
As Napoleon said: "Impossible is not French." In Cuba, impossible is not Cuban either! The many local garages are living proof of this.
These vehicles, with bodies as solid as battle tanks, can be reborn after a few months of hard work, becoming true mechanical masterpieces. The chrome parts, the windows, everything is homemade. It is not uncommon to find Toyota or Mercedes-Benz engines under the hood, Nissan transmissions, Suzuki suspensions, Peugeot air conditioning systems and even automatic window regulators. All these parts, sometimes recovered informally, transform a Chevrolet or Ford from the 1950s into a jewel sold at a gold price, combining retro beauty and modern performance, with just the right amount of electronics.
Cuban mechanics are both talented and resourceful. They often manage to make the necessary parts themselves, even finding a certain pleasure in the difficulty.
Some, particularly skilled with a blowtorch, earn small fortunes by transforming ordinary cars into unique convertibles, intended for tourists eager to relive the American dream in Havana. These modifications are often so well done that they go unnoticed.
Other Cubans choose to extend the body of their old car, widening the trunk to maximize space and thus provide a collective taxi service, an ingenious solution to the scarcity of public transportation.
Public transportation, whether trains, buses or other state means, does not always meet the needs of Cubans.
Hitchhiking remains a common practice. A smile, a short conversation or a bit of charisma can help, as can the presence of the "controllers" of the mandatory carpooling system, who play an essential role in facilitating nearly 60% of daily trips. The courageous and united Cuban people continue to survive thanks to mutual aid.
These controllers, recognizable by their blue vests in the city and yellow in rural areas, are part of the Cuban landscape.
Old American cars are much more than vehicles in Cuba. They are a symbol of the resilience of the Cuban people, a living cultural heritage. We could not imagine Cuba without these restored "almendrones" that still run despite everything. These cars are an integral part of our identity, just as the Eiffel Tower is part of the French identity.
Cuba lives to the rhythm of these old cars. They require a lot of work and maintenance, but we are proud of them. Their presence on our streets is inscribed in the collective memory, a preserved legacy. A heritage law now prohibits their export: these American cars are part of us, of our history.
And we hope that future generations will also be able to climb aboard a beautiful American one day. Perhaps it will soon be your turn to take a trip to Cuba and board one of these icons of the past.
In the meantime, keep dreaming... Cuba is waiting for you!
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