This weekend (April 14-15, 2012) Cuba’s first National Festival of Harley Davidson Riders took place at the world-famous beach resort, Varadero, in the central province of Matanzas.

Organizers of the event announced in Havana that the main purpose of the meeting [was] to bring together Harley Davidson riders from across the Island and to exhibit their classic motorcycles — most of which are 50 years old and even older. “It’s an initiative to strengthen our ties and to defend this heritage of our nation,” the organizers said at a press conference.

The festival in Varadero will include[d] exhibitions, competitions, and a rally along the tourist resort of no less than 70 motorcycles from several Cuban provinces.

Almost all of the Harley Davidson motorcycles that can be seen in the streets of Cuba were brought in before 1960. After that year, due to Washington’s economic, trade and financial blockade, the Caribbean nation was prevented from importing these machines or spare parts for the ones that were on the island already. According to official records, the oldest Harley Davidson rolling in Cuba was made in 1936 and it is owned by a resident of the central province of Villa Clara.

For full article, see http://dominicavibes.dm/news/cuba-to-host-first-national-harley-davidson-riders-festival#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=cuba-to-host-first-national-harley-davidson-riders-festival

Also seephoto above and article at  http://www.greatfallstribune.com/article/20120415/NEWS01/204150302/Cuban-Harley-Davidson-fanatics-hold-first-nationwide-rally

Photo of a 1936 Harley Davidson from http://www.mototype.com/pics/4651/small/hd-knucklehead_36.jpg