During the 1970s and 80s, Cuba’s car market witnessed a remarkable flood of two types of Soviet-build cars: the Lada and the “sportier” Muscovy. To no-one’s surprise, the privilege of buying one accrued to only a tiny few, usually professionals (such as doctors), military officers and Party militants whom the state wanted to reward, sometimes with the goal of refreshing loyalty. Legend has it, however, that the two tones of red associated with Ladas indicated their owner’s position in the Party establishment or quite simply, the intelligence service or MININT. This one, a bright Stalin red, stopped in front of a state elementary school, looks astonishingly new. Miramar, Havana, 2008.
