Trip to Cuba and New Orleans
Mike and Judy Henderson
January 25 to February 8, 2016
And now a word about the old cars you see in Cuba. I discovered that there's a very high tax on new cars in Cuba so people will do everything they can to keep their older car running. And, of course, most of those old cars are used as taxis. An ordinary Cuban cannot afford to have an old car just to have an old car.
But for someone looking for a restored old American car, these are not good candidates. The engines in those old cars were not the original engines which gave up long ago. Many have been replaced with diesel engines and new transmissions. I talked to one taxi guy and he said the only part of the drive train that was original was the differential housing. Basically, these are "new" cars with the original frame and body. I talked with another owner and he had put a diesel engine in his '46 Ford convertible but he told me that he had the original engine and transmission at his home. Looking forward to the day when Americans come looking for vintage cars, I suppose.
None of these cars have any pollution control and the diesels spew a black smoke when they accelerate from a light.
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1/30/2016 We begun our day with a visit to a Santeria museum Santeria is an African religion which came to Cuba with the slaves who were brought here to work the sugar cane fields.
We visited the museum - where I wasn't allowed to take pictures - and learned how the slaves practiced their religion although the owners demanded that they practice Catholicism.
After the tour of the museum we were treated to a show of some of the dances used in the religion. The different colors of the dresses are meant to represent different Deities in the religion.
We went to lunch at a nice privately owned restaurant in the old town Havana.
As in most of the restaurants we at in, we were entertained by a musical group - who always tried to sell us some CDs or DVDs of their music after the performance.
After lunch we went to a percussion dance and music group where we watched them perform several numbers.
After this, we went to a crafts market. The market is in what looks like an old warehouse, with individual stalls for vendors selling craft type goods. The problem is that too many of them have the same things. It's obvious that the items they are selling are factory made, and they must all purchase their inventory from the same place. But the market is a good idea. It provides a sheltered place for the vendors to set up, and keeps them from blocking the sidewalks.
When we left the market, we went to a studio in the section of town known as "Key West", which is predominantly African Cuban. The artist takes cast off junk and attempts to make it into art. Still looks like junk to me.
Then we headed back to the hotel. Many of the people in the tour group are going to the Tropicana this evening to see the show. We had a quick meal at a privately owned restaurant and then the bus came back to the hotel to drop off those not going and to pick up those who are going to the Tropicana. I decided to stay home.
Here's a few pictures Judy brought back from the Tropicana show.
Our guide told us that some years ago, maybe the 80's or 90's, the Tropicana review went to Mexico for a series of shows. However, when it came time to return to Cuba, the entire cast and crew "defected" and stayed in Mexico (and eventually went to the US, I suppose). The show was closed for seven months while they hired and trained a new cast and crew.