by Cuba Journal staff
In the first episode of Discovery Channel’s five episode series Cuban Chrome, a Havana mechanic restores a 1958 Chevy Bel-Air and a taxi driver desperately searches the city for parts for his 1953 Oldsmobile. The series, which first aired July 13th, aptly portrays what could become a new TV genre, Cuban retro.
Craig Coffman, Discovery Channel’s executive producer for Cuban Chrome, summarizes the series theme, “Our show is about cars, but it’s really about looking at Cuba through the lens of cars.”
According to Joanne Ostrow, TV critic for the Denver Post, “There’s a bit of wider culture and history thrown in, but some viewers will crave more. For those of us itching to see the first food series, the first fashion series, the first music series produced entirely in Cuba, this is a tease.”
The series was filmed entirely in Cuba with proper permissions from both governments. The 2nd episode, “Bye Bye Boat Motor” aired July 20th. Next week’s episode, “Crank-Shafted” airs July 27th.
The show can be viewed in 220 countries except Cuba, where Discovery has no distribution.
Photo credit: Discover Channel
