by Raul Menchaca
HAVANA, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- Strolling through the streets of Havana, people are likely to see dozens of vintage automobiles lovingly kept in near mint condition, including a bright red 1959 British-made Austin Healy 3000.
"My husband used to have an MG, but he fell in love with this car and bought it to restore it," Lupe Fuentes told Xinhua at an outdoor exhibition of British sports cars and motorcycles in Cuba's capital as part of British Culture Week.
Fuentes' husband, the renowned mechanic Ricardo Medell, spent 17 years restoring the Healy, painstakingly preserving the original parts as much as possible.
Many consider Cuba to be an outdoor museum due to the number of vintage automobiles, mostly American made, still in circulation.
"When we talk about cars or motorcycles, we always think about the American heritage we have here. However, English cars are also part of our country's heritage on wheels, though to a lesser extent," said Fuentes.
As head of public relations for an automotive club called "A lo cubano" ("In Cuban style"), Fuentes is organizing an English Section, established just a week ago, featuring some 30 classic British-made automobiles and their owners.
Owners of vintage British cars face bigger hurdles when it comes to preserving their vehicles, Fuentes noted.
"Sometimes it would be easier to get a part for an American car, because you can take it from another American car that has already been written off, but that is not the case for the English vehicles," she said.
"There is a lot of inventiveness in the bikes and cars that you see here today," she said, pointing to a row of parked cars, including a Jaguar, Hillman and MG.
People have come to admire these authentic jewels of motoring, such as a Healey Silverstone D10 race car, the only one of its kind in the Americas to be preserved in perfect condition almost seven decades after rolling off the assembly line.
Built in England in 1949, the car is one of two that arrived on the island in the 1950s and the only one that survived the passage of time, thanks to its doting owner.
"The truth is that maintaining these cars must be very expensive, but must also generate great pride in their owners," Alvaro Caballero, who came to see the cars on show, said with a tinge of envy.
"Many people decide to sell their cars because they cannot afford to maintain them, it is economically unsustainable, because it is very difficult to get the parts or make them," said Fuentes.
That's one reason why she wants to promote more brotherly cooperation among the owners of British cars through the club.
"Maybe you have parts or ornaments that you won't use anymore and that another owner needs to tune up his car. They can be exchanged and even sold, but first you have to know each other to help each other," she said.
"It's a way to help each other" and promote Cuba's vintage automobiles, she said.
