Nostalgic Cars: Sour Automotive Fruit Of Cuban Embargo Gets New Life
Nostalgic Cars: Sour Automotive Fruit Of Cuban Embargo Gets New Life
Daily traffic in Havana resembles a vintage car rally, even if it does share the city streets these days Hyundais and Peugeots and rattletrap Russian Ladas. Eyder Peralta/NPR hide caption
Daily traffic in Havana resembles a vintage car rally, even if it does share the city streets these days Hyundais and Peugeots and rattletrap Russian Ladas.
Eyder Peralta/NPRIn Havana, Cuba, the old cars that crowd the streets used to symbolize a stagnant nation. Now enterprising Cubans have begun renting cars out to tourists who are hungry for the cars of their youth.
During my reporting trip to Havana, I spoke with Julio Alvarez, the owner of Nostalgicar in Havana.
Julio Alvarez standing in front of Lola, a 1956 Chevy Bel Air. Eyder Peralta/NPR hide caption
He joked that one thing Cubans should thank Fidel Castro for is all the old, majestic American cars that are now making him money.
You can listen to the story using the player above.
The hood of Nadine, a 1955 Chevy Bel Air. Eyder Peralta/NPR hide caption
The hood ornament of a 1955 Chevy Belair. Under new more liberal policies instituted in Cuba the past few years, the owner, Julio Alvarez, started a restoration shop and named the car Nadine. Its baby-pink counterpart is named Lola. Eyder Peralta/NPR hide caption
The hood ornament of a 1955 Chevy Belair. Under new more liberal policies instituted in Cuba the past few years, the owner, Julio Alvarez, started a restoration shop and named the car Nadine. Its baby-pink counterpart is named Lola.
Eyder Peralta/NPR
Everything but the motor on Nadine, a 1955 Chevy Bel Air, is original. Eyder Peralta/NPR hide caption