Charles takes Camilla to classic car rally in Havana in 1953 sports car

Charles and Camilla in the 1953 classic British sports car
Getty Images
Robert Jobson26 March 2019

The Prince of Wales has driven the Duchess of Cornwall to a classic British car rally in Havana in an MG TD sports car from 1953.

The sight of American motor cars from the 1940s and 1950s on the streets of the Cuban capital is known the world over but there is also a group of hardcore fans dedicated to UK cars from Triumph, Austin Healey and Jaguar.

Earlier the royals were given a taste of true Cuban culture when they visited a community centre in Havana that was originally a water tower.

In a feat of architectural engineering, the Muraleando Centre has become a hub of creativity for Cubans young and old.

British classic cars are a rare sight in Cuba but there is a small contingent of fans who painstakingly repair them
REUTERS

After being given a tour of the vibrant community centre by its director Manuel Diaz Baldrich, the royal couple were treated to a series of performances including a traditional dance by Cuban girls wearing dresses made out of brown paper.

“It’s amazing what you can do with brown paper,” joked the prince.

“They actually look very elegant,” he added, to which Camilla added: “They were really brilliant.”

Camilla was then given an impromptu hug by a girl with Down Syndrome after children from the Special School of Camilo Cienfuegos put on their own dance recital.

They then met with children learning about filmmaking with the help of Camera Chica, a British Council project for audio-visual creation in Cuba.

Then it was the turn of adults to take to the stage with soprano Elizabeth Carmona Mena impressing with an operatic performance and Jeima Clark Perez bringing the house down with the Latin classic Yo Soy El Punto Cubano.

The event ended with the royal couple being given a tour of the inside of the water tank, which had been decorated with artworks by the local community.

They then performed the royal ritual of singing the visitors’ book.

The Socio-Cultural Project "Muraleando” is a local initiative run by a small group of artists and neighbourhood residents dating from January 2001.

Their main objective was to improve the quality of life of the Community, through art. Muraleando has free workshops on painting, dance, popular music, percussion, audio-visual and handicrafts aimed at gathering children, youngsters and elderly people.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in