Well-heeled Americans eager to check off Cuba on their bucket lists can bring home Cuban cigars, small-batch rum and handicrafts. But if they fancy one of the vintage '57 Chevys tooling the streets of Havana, that dream may go unrealized.
Thousands of U.S. cars pre-dating the 1960 trade embargo still chug along Cuba's ramshackle roads a half-century later. Many of them are points of pride for owners who aren't eager to sell. Among the many hurdles to acquiring one of those rolling antiques are questions about their real value.
"People call me all the time and say 'how can we buy one of these?' " said Brenda Priddy, an automotive photographer who leads tours to Cuba focused on the country's cars.
President Obama has made restoring U.S. relations with Cuba a centerpiece of his second-term foreign policy, raising the prospect of fewer restrictions on purchases of Cuban products. The vintage U.S. cars in the island's automotive fleet, though, seem likely to stay put for the foreseeable future.
U.S. trade regulations effectively bar cars from Cuba because most vehicles that would interest collectors were made by Detroit automakers before 1960. Regulations under the embargo allow American travelers to bring back with them items made in Cuba.
On the island, the cars are both a matter of livelihood and national pride. Cristian Paez, 40, said he has no intention of letting go of his 1956 purple-and-beige Bel Air convertible, purchased long ago by his grandfather.
"Not possible," declares Paez, not for any price. "I love driving this car." He gave up his job as a primary school teacher four years ago to drive full-time. On weekdays, he arrives with his vehicle at Havana's palm-lined Parque Central by 8 a.m., ready to hire out to tourists. Most Sundays, he is at the Hotel Nacional, proudly participating in a weekly procession of antique cars.
The journey may begin by fiddling under the hood. He putters along the streets at speeds of no more than 20 miles per hour. Despite many costly replacement parts acquired with the help of friends and family abroad, the vehicle shows its age: The steering wheel is worn down to metal at the edges and the driver's door handle is missing. A strand of orange twine holds the glove compartment shut.
