Perhaps nothing is more more emblematic of Cuban entrepreneurs’ ingenuity and persistence than the now 70+-year-old American cars that drivers have rebuilt and maintained using hand-made and “cannibalized” parts from Soviet-made trucks, tractors, or even a rare Korean or Japanese import. Until recently, drivers charged a set fee per person to drive from Havana to virtually any major city on the country’s national highways: from Havana to Pinar del Rio cost the equivalent of $5 USD; Havana to Cienfuegos $25 USD and as much as $85 or more to get to far-away Santiago. Because foreigners and those paying in foreign currency are given priority seating on the nation’s interprovincial buses, Cubans who cannot afford such cars and can only pay for their seat in Cuban currency have to wait—often for days at a time—to get a seat on a bus.
