Placetas is a small city located almost at the exact center of Cuba. Like in any other town in the country, American cars which are more than 60 years old are vital for local transportation. A small private workshop specializing in Chevrolets has seized an important market segment providing a very rare service in Cuba: they manufacture spare parts for that brand. Ten years ago, Pablo Manso changed his work as a carpenter to become a panel beater. “I would repair anything from cars to refrigerators. But manufacturing steel parts is not the same,” he shouts while he tries to make his voice heard in the noisy workshop. “At the beginning, we did all kinds of jobs, but we’ve gradually moved towards specialization,” he adds without interrupting what he’s doing because “time is money.” “We build the interior panels of doors, floors and trunks, fenders, rear axles… basically any part for Chevrolet ’55, ’56 and ’57. This is the line of work I like, the one I really enjoy,” he says. In Villa Clara there are no state-run companies taking care of this kind of production in Placetas, and so far, no other dealer has a plate beater licence in...