NostalgiCar: A Family’s Love for Classic Cars in Cuba

At EEAbroad, we love sharing the story of NostalgiCar because it’s one full of perseverance, ingenuity, family, teamwork, and passion for bringing life back to classic cars. We proudly partner with NostalgiCar to offer travelers and students the opportunity to visit their garage, learn from their story, and of course, ride in style around Havana in their meticulously restored Cuban classic cars.

This past year, we created a virtual learning case study about Nostalgicar’s classic automobile business and how it came to fruition. Our students and travelers have always enjoyed getting to know the husband and wife duo and owners, Julio Álvarez Torres and Nidialys Acosta Cabrera, on our trips to Cuba. While travel may be on hold, learning from Julio and Nidialys’s amazing story and visiting their garage is not. Check out the sneak peek below about how NosalgiCar came to be the popular, family-run classic car tour operator it is today.

THE STORY OF NOSTALGICAR

The Obama family, John Kerry, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Madonna, Bon Jovi, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, and even Ray Magliozzi of NPR’s Car Talk all have one thing in common — NostalgiCar.

In 2015, John Kerry was the first U.S. Secretary of State to visit Cuba for 70 years. During his visit, he was fascinated with the meticulous restoration of classic cars by a small Cuban business. What was the small, family-run business? You guessed right — NostalgiCar. However, John Kerry is not the only person drawn to Cuba’s notoriety for class cars. Over the years, Cuba has attracted attention from tourists looking to experience what it’s like to travel back in time on wheels.

NostalgiCar owners as well as husband and wife, Julio ÁlvarezTorres and Nidialys Acosta Cabrera. Photo by Claudio Peleaz Sordo.

John Kerry is also not the only U.S. politician NostalgiCar has come to know and serve. Listed as one of the most successful Cuban private ventures, NostalgiCar caught Obama’s attention during his Cuba visit in March 2016. After meeting with owners, Julio Álvarez Torres and Nidialys Acosta Cabrera, the business transported the Obama family around Havana during their pivotal political visit to reopen the U.S. embassy.

In 2017, Julio and Nidialys were among eight Cuban self-employed entrepreneurs invited to speak at the Global Innovation Forum in Washington, D.C. after which they were invited to visit the White House.

Some may think NostalgiCar’s story sounds like it’s straight out of a movie, but that assumption wouldn’t be far from the truth as their vintage cars have been featured extensively in films, music videos, documentaries, wedding, and more. Today, Julio and Nidialys own a fleet of classic cars named after people who have significantly impacted their lives — Nadine, Lola, Romeo, Benito, Margaret, Benny, Daniel, and Duffy.

Their love for cars and the passion they put into restoring them is palpable in each story Julio recounts as he talks about his “babies.” A private business of this stature in a socialist, restrictive context can only be the fruit of great tenacity and passion which has gone into reviving cars that continue to fill the streets of Cuba since the 1950s.

THE BEGINNING OF BUSINESS

Nidialys and Julio’s first car, Nadine, a 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air

NostalgiCar was created in 2011 after Julio convinced his wife, Nidialys, to sell her personal car to buy a 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air, later named Nadine. Julio and Nidialys bet everything to start their business after the Cuban government released a series of self-employment licenses under the mandate of Raúl Castro.

In 2011, Obama eased travel restrictions to Cuba, permitting U.S. citizens to visit on “people-to-people” group tours, which led to a wave of U.S. tourism on the island. At the time, Cuban infrastructure was unprepared to handle the influx in tourism and thus, the demand allowed self-employed Cubans to fill the gaps with private services such as transportation in the case of NostalgiCar. From here, Julio obtained a taxi driver license, so he could offer tourists not only transportation but riding in style in a classic car.

At the time, the government fleet of old classic cars was less attractive and well-preserved, which helped Julio “fish” for clients outside of Hotel Nacional. With beginner’s level English but a lot of confidence, Julio slowly but surely began to “catch” clients, and his car, Nadine, proved to be a great investment and addition to the family.

However, not every day was easy. Julio recalls that some nights he would come home without landing a single client. Despite this, he remained optimistic and persevered. Julio’s father worked as a mechanic for General Motors before the triumph of the Cuban Revolution. Julio attributes his passion for classic cars and persistence to start NostalgiCar to his father.

Eventually, Julio’s hard work paid off and business increased. Nidialys decided to leave her job working for a Cuban state company in order to pursue her own taxi driver license. And that was how they purchased Lola, a 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air. After a thorough restoration and coat of pink paint, Lola was instantly popular among tourists. With two cars and a growing clientele, NostalgiCar was thriving!

Thanks to steady growth, Julio and Nidialys were able to hire drivers, so they could scale their business. Nidialys assumed the role of managing the business operation and administration while Julio focused on car restoration.

“We used to restore cars at home, and as you can imagine, I was not very happy about dirty car parts all over our porch and in our living room,” said Nidialys. In January 2015, they rented a dedicated garage and workshop from the Ministry of Transport and invested in restoring more classic cars, finally reaching a fleet of eight.

An image taken before the renovation of Duffy, a 1938 Chevrolet Pickup

A fully restored Duffy, a 1938 Chevrolet Pickup

Julio and Nidialys not only received invitations to speak at several North American universities to share their story, but they also enrolled in marketing and business courses to help them grow NostalgiCar despite the adversities of entrepreneurship in a socialist country.

In Cuba, citizens are permitted to have several cars in their name; however, it’s illegal to have several cars used for personal business ventures. Once Nostalgicar evolved into a full-fledged transportation provider, it needed to employ taxi drivers aside from Julio and Nidialys. However, before they could hire drivers, they had to register their fleet as approved taxis.

To do this, each member of Julio and Nidialys’s family joined the business so they could register a car under their name as a “working vehicle” and obtain the taxi operating permit. This family business model allowed NostalgicCar to increase its fleet and operate with greater capacity.

CUBA: A MUSEUM OF CLASSIC CARS

All cars in Cuba must go through a yearly government inspection for approval to provide transportation services. Meeting the mandated requirements can be a headache for classic car owners who don’t have a readily available supply of materials and spare parts.

Many classic cars in Cuba have deteriorated due to the lack of spare parts in the market. Many that are in working condition are hybrids that retain very little of their original interior or body. In many cases, owners are unable to invest in repair and end up storing them away. For Julio, this is a similar challenge he faced.

NostalgiCar has acquired many vehicles salvaged for scrap metal and parts for other cars. The investment to obtain specific replacement parts is enormous due to the economic and financial embargo the U.S. has imposed on Cuba. “We purchase all new spare parts from reputable distributors in the U.S. and they are brought to Cuba through tortuous and expensive mechanisms," Julio said. It’s an expensive, laborious process.

Julio sources most of his parts from Miami, California, and New York. He has even bought some on eBay. However, in addition to the U.S. embargo, the Trump administration’s tightening of restrictions between the two countries has further exacerbated NostalgiCar's operations.

In 2019, Trump canceled all U.S. cruises to Cuba and shortly thereafter banned “people-to-people” group travel. On top of this, they rolled out a series of measures that affected diplomatic and commercial relations between the two countries which significantly set back the U.S. - Cuba advancements of the Obama administration.

NOSTALGICAR TODAY

In 2019, NostalgiCar opened purchased its own garage in the Arroyo Naranjo neighborhood of Havana which quite fittingly is decorated in 1950s vintage style. Fortunately, Trump's measures did not put a halt to business as they continue to offer tour and transportation services, although they have undeniably taken a hit from the notable reduction in North American tourists who historically had been the basis of their clientele. Despite these setbacks, the business has continued although the demand reduced — it wasn’t until the arrival of the pandemic, the closure of flights, and the halt on tourism that NostalgiCar took a significant hit.

Benny, a 1959 Chevrolet Impala, sitting pretty in NostaligCar’s Arroyo Naranjo garage.

Today, Julio spends most of his time at the garage, restoring vintage cars himself, or managing a small team of mechanics. He has faith that his business operations will return to normal once the majority of Cubans are fully-vaccinated and tourism resumes.

Julio and Nidialys' expectations and spirits remain high despite the setbacks. They have taken on new projects such as restoring old cars for other clients. Regardless of what comes next, they both continue to do what they love which is breathing life back into old vehicles. For Julio, this is where he finds his greatest source of joy. He loves the process and hard work that goes into restoring a dilapidated car more than the finished product — and that shows true passion.

We, at EEAbroad, proudly partner with NostalgiCar to offer travelers and students the opportunity to visit their garage, learn from their story, ingenuity, and perseverance, and of course, explore Havana in style from the backseat of one of their restored classic cars. We hope you join us one day to see for yourself.