If a tourist is in the city of Havana or in any other point of the Cuban territory , it is very likely that they will see old vehicles from the United States circulating on the streets. In popular language these cars are known as almendrones. It is a nickname that Cubans invented to refer to old cars, most of which were manufactured in the 1950s and that belong to the Ford, Chevrolet, Dodge, Packard or Pontiac brands.
The true origin of this name is not known with certainty, but it is very likely due to the almond shape of these vegetables
On the roads of Cuba, almendrones are normally used as taxis for tourists and the taxi drivers who drive them are known as boteros. In this way, when the traveler gets into one of them, they make a kind of time travel, since these cars are currently out of circulation and in other countries they are authentic museum pieces.
A symbol of Cuban culture
Thanks to the inventiveness of the Cubans, these cars of the past remain in circulation. Some of them only retain the bodywork and their engine is very different from the original. In order for them to be preserved, it is necessary to resort to mechanical ingenuity, since the original pieces of the almendrones can no longer be found. On the other hand, the owners of these old cars do not always have money to put gas.
The almendrones are more than just old cars driving through the streets. In reality, these relics are part of the history of the Cuban people. It must be remembered that before the 1959 Revolution , Cuba was known as the backyard of the gringos, who had occupied the island as tourists.
With their money and their luxurious cars, the gringos of yesteryear fueled the anti-capitalist rejection of the Cuban revolutionaries
Seventy years later, the current almendrones have stopped being a capitalist symbol of the northern neighbor to become a decorative element of the communist regime.
In recent years, the boatmen who work as taxi drivers are not very satisfied with their government , since the prices of the races do not depend on the supply and demand of capitalism but on the decision of the Cuban authorities.
La Bodeguita of the Middle and mojitos, the Malecón, the chess games in the streets, colonial buildings and almendrones are some of the signs of identity of Havana.