Another thing that all Americans seem to envision in conjunction with thoughts of Cuba is the time capsule of old cars that we hear about. Yes, they are old. We saw very few recent model cars. The truly vintage--1950's--cars are mostly all rebuilt, and have been painted very bright colors. I think Cuban taxi owners have realized how iconic those cars are, almost the entire world over, and so they keep them looking beautiful, and are paid handsomely for a taxi ride in one. If you jump in any other taxi, it will be a tiny, boxy, also brightly colored car of Russian manufacture. They look a bit like the 1970's Fiat 4-door cars. I enjoyed capturing pictures of these cars in the settings that looked also right out of a by-gone era. One of my favorite is the photo of a vintage American sedan in front of several brightly colored 1940's Art Deco apartment buildings.
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| Vintage American car in front of 1940's era architecture. |
Here are a few of my favorite finds:
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| Taxis at Revolution Square in Havana, on our first day in Cuba. Here, you can actually see a couple of modern cars in the background; some of the few we noted. Most were spotted in more affluent neighborhoods and were privately owned. |
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| Parked at Earnest Hemingway's house. |
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| In Trinidad. The juxtaposition of the 1950's car, and the cobbled streets, and the modern digital image strike me. |
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| And, the little Russian cars. |
Of course, the budget cab for around the city of Havana is the human-powered Coco Taxi. Yup, and they certainly reminded me of a coconut!
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| Coco Taxis in Revolution Square |
Leaving Cuba, what would I bring home? Mostly, my treasured memories of the people and places. But, a few things came home with me. I soooo very much wanted to bring home a box of Cohiba cigars. We bought them for $2 each at a paladar house we enjoyed in Havana. Everybody stocked up, and, quite frankly, I've had Cohibas on various occasions over the past 15 years, but these were the best I ever enjoyed. Come to think of it, I think Jeff may have accidentally forgotten to unload 5 or 6 of them that were in his pocket when we arrived back home.
The US allows its citizens returning from Cuba only to bring items of intellectual or artistic effort. Items such as books, typical art pieces, and such are a no brainer. However, very little is mass-produced in Cuba, and of such things, few would fall onto a tourist's list of things to save as a memory there. So, most items were fair game if one adjusted the frame of reference regarding "artistic effort." And, we were not closely scrutinized.
I bought a book of short stories by Cuban authors; most were on topics addressing the revolution, and the aftermath of it and its short- and long-term affects on people. The stories were in Spanish; not really a problem for me. I read languages better than I speak them, and can read Spanish (and some French and a little Italian) with only moderate effort. I was interested in the writing style. It seemed so dramatic, as does much of Cuban culture, to me. I cherish that there seemed to be so little median emotion. Drama and flourish and emotion is in all I found there. Passion. I wanted to stay longer; to immerse myself in the passion of daily life; to learn to reconnect with the artist in my soul.
Thank you, Cuba. You are a completely different, beautiful, complex, place and people. Visiting was a gift I will ever cherish.
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