Change is in the air in Cuba and no more so than Havana. It is a country on the brink of a new Cuba where huge number of tourists are flocking to see the country ‘before it all changes’ and becomes ‘Americanised’. There is a concern that the romanticised idea of ‘authentic’ vintage Havana will vanish. People want to ride in the 1950s American classic cars before they are all replaced by shiny new taxis, see the decaying colonial architecture before the inevitable restorations, and just immerse themselves in ‘the real’ Cuba before commercialism ruins this 1950’s time warp island. However, most local Cubans are more than ready for change in order to improve their daily lives, and wish to forgo the image of the vintage Havana dream that foreigners are rushing to see.
