Driving Around Havana in Vintage Mode

THERE WERE ALMOST 150,000 OF THEM ALL OVER CUBA IN THE 1950S, MOST OF THEM BARRELING DOWN ONLY IN THE CAPITAL. TODAY, ONLY HALF OF THESE GEMS ARE LEFT, BUT THERE ARE STILL GOOD ENOUGH TO BE HIGHLY VISIBLE AND GIVE CHARACTER TO THE CITIES

Many things make Cuba unique and one of them being the army of old American cars, mostly from the 1940s and 1950s, that roam its streets and highways. In Havana they are an inseparable part of the urban landscape, a heritage attraction and a guarantee for one of the experiences the city offers visitors.

Among Cuba's old cars there are many overexploited and modified, generally converted into collective cabs. Others are brightly colored and look astonishingly brand new and are used for tourist tours, and there are some collector's cars, showy, well preserved, destined to give luxury and the pleasure of exclusivity to their owners.

There were almost 150,000 in all of Cuba in the 1950s, most of them rolling in Havana. Today only half of them are left, but they are still enough to be very visible everywhere and give character to the cities. They remain among us out of necessity, thanks to Cuban inventiveness and, increasingly in recent years, out of pure passion for vintage.

A diverse and numerous fleet of classic cars awaits

you in Cuba

Many of them are convertibles, whether in caravans or on your own, for a ride around Havana. So don't forget a hat or cap, dark glasses, a cool long-sleeved shirt and sunscreen.

It is to ride on history, in a classic. Now travel in one of those cars that could reach Cuba in just hours from the southern ports of the United States.

At one time, the island became the largest importer of American cars in Latin America. Chevrolet, Ford, Cadillac, Dodge, Buick and Chrysler were everywhere... Modern and comfortable Plymouth, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Mercury, Studebaker and Packard cars were sold in luxurious agencies.

It came to pass that some of the latest models circulated in Cuba before they did in the United States. Some Americans bought them in Havana and took them to the U.S. on ferries from the Cuban capital to Florida.

While touring the city, from the Historic Center with its colonial atmosphere to the Miramar of mansions and residences of the modern movement, or along the road that borders the Almendares

River among the tropical vegetation of the Havana forest, you can see the wonders of the city up close and at the same time listen to stories of classic cars or of the places you discover.

Some rent tours, others choose classic cars for a trip to the beach or to go to an establishment that has been recommended to them or that they have heard about on the Internet, a bar or a club, a café or a restaurant or an art gallery.

Sometimes, to venture to places on the periphery like Hemingway's Finca Vigia, who came to own seven of these elegant cars while living in the Cuban capital, among them a luxurious 1955 Chrysler New Yorker De Luxe, one of the two that entered Cuba and was driven by the writer himself. It was found a few years ago, returned to the museum estate and an almost novel-like effort began to restore it.

The day these rolling classics are gone, Havana will look different and they will surely be missed. They have endured more than 60 years. Many of them look tired and battered, most of them converted into route cabs. Others have been preserved and restored, for the pleasure of their owners or rental for itineraries and tourist trips. There is a "high class", those that have not been modified, which retain original parts, accessories and seats.

A diverse and numerous fleet of classic cars awaits you in Cuba. Driving around the city in this vintage adventure is a unique experience in Havana.