Page 46 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Cuba

44 ❯❯ The Top 10 of Everything

American Legacies

Classic American cars on a Cuban street
American Autos
Harley-Davidsons
1 3
Many pre­revolutionary
Time seems to have stood still
for five decades on Cuban roads, Harleys still roar around the streets
where one in every five cars dates of Cuba, maintained by passionate
back to before the Revolution (see harlistas who are dedicated to
p37). Most are American classics keeping their “hogs” on the road
from the 1950s – including many by whatever means.
iconic models that vanished
from US roads years ago.
Art Deco
2
Cuban cities are graced
with Art Deco buildings that date
back to the 1930s and the heyday
of Hollywood movies. The finest
are the cinemas, often with rounded
architectural elements and hori­ Industriales baseball team
zontal banding. These designs
Baseball
exemplify the architects’ desire 4
to imbue local buildings with slick, Americans introduced base­
streamlined forms, reflect ing the ball to Cuba in the mid­19th century.
great age of transport. Today, the island pro duces some
excellent players. Cuban teams
regularly defeat US teams at the
Olympic Games.
US Naval Base
5
MAP Q6
When the US government wrote
Cuba’s Constitution in 1902 (see p36),
it included a clause called the Platt
Amendment, which granted itself a
perpetual lease on Guantánamo Bay.
Despite thawing relations between
the US and Cuba, the naval base
remains a bone of contention. The US
government writes a check every year
for the annual lease, but the Castros
(see pp40–41) refuse to cash it.
Art Deco Bacardi Building, Havana

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