CubaTrade-April2017-FLIPBOOK

A Labor of Love: Nostalgicar owner Julio Alvarez and his wife, Nidialys Acosta, beside their 1956 Chevy BelAir "Lola"
On The Job: The garage on Avenida Boyeros employs 14 people. Below, left: Alvarez welcomes curious visitors to his workshop.
cars and seeks a Cuban bank loan to help finance the expansion.
Alvarez hopes that when the U.S. embargo is lifted, his venture
can become a hub for restoring cars shipped to Cuba from
around the world. The expertise and inventiveness of Cubans in
restoration, plus labor costs below those of many other nations,
could make Cuba an ideal site for his specialty business. “What
we have to protect here is that the initiative comes from the
Cubans,” Alvarez told his visitors.
Dreams of developing a global hub are a long way from his
days working solo in his home garage, restoring a 1955 Chevrolet
BelAir that he inherited from an uncle. Alvarez started his
venture by transforming that car into a gleaming turquoise-andwhite
beauty dubbed Nadine and renting her out as a taxi. “I was
fishing for tourists outside the Hotel Nacional,” trying to recoup
the initial investment, he said.
Next, he sold an old Polish-made Fiat126p to buy another
Chevy BelAir, this time a beat-up 1956 model that he restored
into the pink-and-white “Lola.” His wife, Nidialys Acosta, drove
Lola as a taxi, too. The couple then teamed up with other owner-drivers
outside the Hotel Nacional, and the group soon had a
dozen vehicles to rent. Nidialys, who has a degree in chemistry
and ably handles numbers, agreed to coordinate all the rentals.
What we have to protect here is that the
initiative comes from the Cubans
Julio Alvarez, owner Nostalgicar
Today, Alvarez works with 14 people at his Havana garage
on Avenida Boyeros. His wife handles bookings for 22 cars, each
individually owned. The fleet features at least one Chevy for
every year from 1950 through 1960, none of them convertibles.
Nostalgicar rents direct to customers and also through government-owned
tour operators such as Havanatur and Gaviota.
Two-hour trips for tourists are the most popular bookings, but
Cubans rent their cars as well for special occasions such as weddings
or 15th birthday parties (“quinces”).
Still, keeping Nostalgicar humming is a challenge. Alvarez
said he works with a “friend” in Miami, who buys him specialty
parts from U.S. sellers. The friend uses a credit card to make the
purchases and then charges Alvarez a 20 percent markup. “With
those kind of friends, I don’t need enemies,” joked Alvarez.
Friends visiting Cuba sometimes bring the parts to Alvarez,
or else he arranges for shipments to Cuba, often paying $8 to $10
per pound for ocean cargo that can take three months to arrive.
That’s on top of whatever customs duties may be required in
Cuba, he said. The upshot: parts sometimes cost 50 percent more
than the initial purchase price in the United States.
So far, Alvarez said he’s financed the venture without loans,
relying largely on cash flow from the rentals. By Cuban standards,
his outlays are big. Alvarez figures it cost some $24,000 to buy
and fix up a 1960 Chevrolet Impala recently. That vehicle might
sell in Cuba for $60,000 and would retail for a lot more overseas.
“I can’t export. It’s not allowed,” said Alvarez. Renting out the car
as a taxi in Cuba brings in anywhere from $25 to $50 per hour or
more, depending on whether the booking is retail or through tour
operators, length of rental, and other factors.
To be sure, not all the parts in Nostalgicar’s American
classics are original, or even “Made in the USA.” Alvarez said
that about six years ago the Cuban government brought in an
abundance of diesel engines from Europe, and many Cubans
installed them to boost mileage from roughly 4-6 kilometers per
liter (9-12 mpg) to 14-15 kilometers per liter (33-35 mpg). Some
cars also have engines from Toyotas or other Asian makes.
But those details don’t deter visitors from enjoying Nostalgicar’s
classics. Cars in the group have been rented by music and
film celebrities such as Bon Jovi, Madonna, and Susan Sarandon,
by U.S. governors Andrew Cuomo of New York and Terry
McAuliffe of Virginia, and even by such U.S. leaders as then-Secretary
of State John Kerry and then-President Barack Obama
with his family.
The wall of Nostalgicar’s office proudly features a framed
“thank you” note from then-First Lady Michelle Obama, written
on White House stationery. Mrs. Obama thanks Niadlys for
her “warm welcome” to the family, says her efforts “did not go
unnoticed” and calls it “truly an honor to have the opportunity
to experience the culture and traditions of the Cuban people
first-hand.”
Alvarez appreciates the growing people-to-people contact
with Americans in Cuba––and during his visits to 10 U.S. states
so far. But his love for American cars goes further back. Before
Cuba’s 1959 revolution, Alvarez’s father worked with the American
auto maker General Motors on the island. “Since I was
eight, I’d help my dad restore these cars,” said the 48-year-old
Alvarez with nostalgia. “I wish my Dad were still around to see
everything we’re doing now.” H
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