Ernesto Guevara, a lawyer and youngest son of Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara (1928-1967) has opened a Cuban tour agency named La Poderosa Tours selling Harley-Davidson rides around the island.
The different trips offered are called “Motorcycle Diaries” in reference to the 2004 movie about his father riding a Norton 500 from Argentina to Venezuela via Chile, Colombia and Peru from (December 1951 to July 1952.) Tour prices start at US$3000.
The multi-day tours include rides in the varied landscapes of Cuba, a visit to his father mausoleum and stays at five-star hotels… Ernesto Guevara is the coordinator of all tours and the main guide is Camilo Sanchez, son of Cuban guerrilla Antonio Sanchez Diaz also known as “Marcos”, a fighter killed during a 1967 battle.
The U.S. has an embargo with Cuba dating back to 1963 that restricts trade and tourism with the island nation except for certain deals on food and medicine. In 2011, the Obama administration allowed travel for U.S. citizens to make “people to people” trips. U.S. citizens can also visit the island with help from the right travel group. Since these changes, an estimated 100,000 Americans have traveled to Cuba each year.
do you know, are these tours on vintage harleys
Wonder what bikes are used for the tour as all Harleys are antiques held together with love and sweat.
Touring on old Harleys, Cuban style, or new ones?
“Motorcycle Diaries” is a superb movie about Che Guevara riding through several South American countries. A 23-year old lawyer from Argentina, during his trip he discovered poverty and human exploitation. It’s the way he became the revolutionary that everybody know.
Been to Cuba a few times; fascinating time capsule yet so close to the US of A… could never understand the Helms Burton act. This would for certain be on new HD’s, as there are other M/C tour operators there with HD’s as well. Cuba will change drastically and dramatically nearly overnight once the embargo is lifted…
http://lapoderosatours.com/en/index.html
Link to English tour information
Che Guevara was a physician. The views of him are polarizing, to say the least. I suspect the truth is somewhere in the middle.
The Cuban Embargo has been largely a smokescreen since the 70’s. No other country has embargoed Cuba, and there is nothing, US made or otherwise, that the Cuban’s can not get. The impediment to goods is simply the failed economy and political structure. The only successes they have had in the past ten years since the Soviets bailed out on them are moves like China to permit some personal ownership of property and businesses (like these motorcycle tours which are heavily taxed by the Cuban government).
Wasn’t Che a Communist ?
Che was a revolutionary fighting an oppressive puppet government set up by the US to exploit the Cuban land and people.
I’ll be pleased when the segment of an older generation that has grown accustomed to throwing the label “communist” on anybody who empathizes with the weakest members of society are dead and gone. Your time has passed.
Chris,
So he helped set up the government in Cuba, Right
which is a Communist Government, that would not let Rock N Roll in it’s country
Just checking the Facts here
and you have no idea how old i am.
Cuba, like all the Caribbean islands, is a great tropical get-away destination.
Certainly would keep your interest for a couple of days of touring.
And in its hay-day the hotels were first class.
The Cuban trade embargo was a waste of time and effort, nothing to be gained by it……
Cuba isn’t and never would have become the mythical Socialist paradise global Progressives have dreamed about for years.
So while “…varied landscapes of Cuba..” would be way cool, “…a visit to his father mausoleum…” not so much.
Like most Communist revolution, Cuba’s also culminated with mass executions.
And this “physician” was the ring-leader of that endeavor. There isn’t much “middle ground” between a Dr.’s Hippocratic oath and mass murder.
So -yes- on the ride
But -no- on the propaganda
-nicker-
One has to wonder whether you would be able to actually hear Che spinning in his masoleum when his own son, ( a practicing capitalist), rolls up with his group of paying customers! Now THAT is funny… in an ironic hilarious kind of way!
Muderoos communist thugs aren’t cool.
Viva Reagan,
And America’s largest provider of goods? China…commie-nist last I heard
It’s about money and nothing else
Can we get back to bikes?
So at the end of the 50’s Cuba was rolling in American cash and goods. Then we had this nasty divorce and the Cubans went into a kind of time standing still limbo. The Russians replaced us as a trading partner but hey, the Soviet union was a piss poor alternative to the USA as a provider of goods and services so the Cubans held onto their American stuff and figured out how to keep it pasted together without a reliable parts supply stream..
Today they continue to keep thousands of examples of 60+ year old iron up and running. Panhead heaven not to mention the automobiles. Amazing. There is a fortune in daily runners waiting for the end of the embargo. They ain’t pretty and they are cobbled together but they are there.
Would probably be a fascinating experience for someone interested in 2014 Cuba.
I do enjoy Cuban cigars and music.
The origin country of my keyboard has ICBMs at the ready
Cuba doesn’t.
In case anyone’s interested in the island and the bike culture there, there’s a pretty awesome book about old and even older bikes in Cuba by W&W Cycles.
http://www.wwag.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/WebSite.woa/wa/DirectAction?action=forceEnglish&page=%21129262
Thanks for the link, Wilhelm…looks like they have some interesting books