Little Known Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About Cuba

For decades, Cuba’s streets were a living museum of vintage automobiles, mainly due to a ban on car imports that lasted until 2011. As a result, classic American cars from the 1940s and 1950s—many in vibrant shades of pink, red, and blue—became iconic fixtures across the island.

These beautifully preserved vehicles, often repurposed as taxis, continue to charm tourists and locals alike. Referred to affectionately as almendrones (meaning “large almonds” due to their rounded shapes), these cars are driven by boteros—a colloquial term meaning “boatmen”—who keep Cuba’s unique automotive heritage rumbling down the roads to this day.