Bright soldiers of the Revolution
Batista opponents ferried weapons in this 1948 Pontiac Streamliner Deluxe sedan. Preserved under a thick gloss of paint, the vehicles arrayed at the Granma Memorial provide a full-fendered view of transportation in Cuba in the late 1950s. Of course, so do the cars and trucks chugging along the Havana streets outside the Museo de la Revolución , which is home to the memorial. And there's no admission charge to see them. Yet the collection is well worth the memorial's modest, 2-CUC (or so) admission fee, both for its direct connection to historic events – here, for example, are the trucks in which Fidel and Raúl Castro traversed the steep slopes of Oriente Province as they led their rebel forces – and for its lessons on how the revolutionaries embraced and adapted the technology of the day for their guerrilla warfare. You'll see a delivery van that became a troop carrier for an assault on Batista's palace, and a tractor transforme...