A Cuban Car and Tomorrow

                                                                              

When one mentions “Cuba” the image that instantly comes to mind is the vintage car from the 1950s which is still very prevalent in the country. But as Cuba changes even some of the objects most closely associated with the venerated days of yore, such as the classic cars, are affected. As I was driving through Havana today, I noticed the sticker on this Ford from the 1950s. It reads in Spanish: “Si mi prosperidad te causa envidia, haz como yo, trabaja.” Translation: “If my wealth makes you jealous, do what I do, work.”

This made me think of several things. First, for me, it is almost sacrilege to deface a what amounts to a museum piece with such a crass sticker. Second, this is a microcosm of what Cuba is going through: it wants to maintain its identity, even the one imposed on it by tourist fascination with objects from yesteryear, while at the same time trying to modernize its economy and attitudes. Third, the driver of this vehicle appears to be espousing a very capitalistic sentiment, something that would have been unheard of twenty or thirty years ago.

Jonathan Culler and Robert Urry, sociologists who have written about tourism and semiotics would ascribe to this car the term “alibi” or “marker.” It no longer serves its original purpose of simply transporting one person from one location to another; it now has become an institution, a marker of memory and culture and a stronghold where an important battle is to take place: the Cuba of yesteryear vs the Cuba of tomorrow.