CARISTAS

The little Polish-built Fiat 126p will go a long way on a litre.     AN ASSOCIATED PRESS   report in the Washington Post suggests that the Polski Fiat 126p is enjoying a "revival" in Cuba. I don't recall the tiny, Polish-built Fiat ever falling out of favour.    Still, with Cuba's once-cheap black market diesel fuel shooting up in price because of Venezuelan cutbacks, it's not hard to see how the 126p, with frugal air-cooled two-cylinder engine, could gain added allure.    The Polski Fiat was produced from 1973 through 2000 in Bielsko-Biała in south Poland. Cuba has some 10,000 Polskis, according to the article. The 126p has long been an everyday sight in Cuba.

Public transportation in Santiago de Cuba.     IN A LETTER released on his 90th birthday this past Saturday, Fidel Castro paid tribute to the advances that let him continue to contemplate the ways of the world ... and beyond.    "Modern medical techniques have allowed me to scrutinize the universe," he wrote.    For passengers on this 1958 Mercury truck converted into a people-carrier in Santiago, the view is less extensive. Rebadged Ford pickups and medium-duty trucks were sold as Mercurys in Canada  –   and also shipped to Cuba.