Being a tourist there, the idea I got is about a special connection between Cubans
and their cars.
Beyond the folklore. Beyond the timeless charm of 1950s objects with an inimitable design. Beyond all of this, there is a fact.
In Cuba they know how to treat their cars, just like they know how to treat people.
It is not a coincidence that the first scene that occurred in front of me during my first trip to Cuba (which would later become the first of two) was a group of people gathered around a broken down car. not far from the airport. Coming from Italy where thanks to various insurance and assistance contracts, no one is forced to be able to change a wheel anymore, I immediately thought: "here they are all experts in mechanics". A bit like when in Italy we say we are all football coaches. As always, the truth lies somewhere in between, but what is certain is that everyone there wanted to give their opinion to solve the problem. Without hurry obviously, because as I was later explained, hurry is not elegant.
But it was elegant:
This little gem was our first time. For me for and my travel fellows.
Our first time on a 50's. Who cares if it is 2 pm on an August afternoon and we will have to face a 3 hours travel without any air conditioning. This car is wonderful! Let’s go! The fact that it was a car used for short sightseeing tours in the city did not discourage us. Not even the driver's face when we proposed him a 200km drive from Havana to Vinales. After all, work is always work. But after about half an hour of travel, everything was clearer. The hot air that came in through the windows, instead of cooling, acted as a comburent for the process of fusing our legs with the plastic material of the seats. An infernal heat. Come to think of it from a car whose registration number ended in 666, that was to be expected.
Not even our little fan friend, could do anything.
There was anything to be surprised of. We are still talking about vehicles of 60-70 years ago, even if maintained very well. This is because in a country with limited economic and technological resources, the feeling is that those who have a car at disposal have learned to engage in maintenance and restyling works. To get the most from the minimum.
The top of this supreme pragmatism was revealed to us when the taxi we were traveling in suddenly stopped. Everyone worried. Our driver, with a calm that would make Clint Eastwood envy, got out of the car, opened the hood, repeatedly sucked in and spat out some excess gasoline from I don't know which part of the engine (I don't know much about cars) and finally magically restarted. All of this by lighting a cigarette at the end, in front of our astonished eyes of course. To get rid of the taste of diesel from his mouth, he said.
Human torch to whom?
Or that time when there was a handle to lower the windows. You will say: so? as on all old cars. No, here there was a handle for all the windows! You used it, you detached it and returned it to the driver. This is how I personally won a nice puddle shower during a tropical downpour. Crossing a truck, our driver ,sitting in front of me, was not quick enough with the handle.
Here below some shots that demonstrate how Cuban cars know how to perfectly harmonize with their surroundings:
Ambitions:
A sunset on the malecon: (I always wondered what those elephants were right with Cuba):
And in the end, after those 60/70 years of honorable career, there are some cases when no restoration can be done. What remains to do is to enjoy a well-deserved rest. If it is also so close to malecon, even better:
Cuba
2014
and 2018
