The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall continued their visit to Cuba on Tuesday.
The day started at John Lennon Park, where Prince Charles and Camilla attended a classic car event showcasing British cars and motorbikes hosted by a member of the British Classic Motorbike Enthusiasts.
Their Royal Highnesses arrived at John Lennon Park in a 66-year-old restored MG TD. Upon arrival, Prince Charles told the crowds that had gathered to watch the event that it “is the most beautiful car. It has an incredibly powerful accelerator. It is incredibly close to the brake, so you have to be careful you don’t press the wrong one.”
Camilla quipped, after her husband was taken by the cars on display, “He’s never going to leave, he loves his cars. He’s really rather in his element.”
The Duchess also joked about the classic nature of the cars, saying, “I remember most of these cars. Shows how old I am!”
After viewing the classic cars on display, the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall visited the Submarino Amarillo Bar – the Yellow Submarine Bar – which plays classic British rock songs, including The Beatles, who are extremely popular in Cuba.
The Prince and Duchess then visited the Areito EGREM Recording Studio, where they toured the facilities and watched a performance by the Eliades Ochoa of the Buena Vista Social Club and other jazz musicians before watching the sound engineers work in the mixing studio.
Their Royal Highnesses also took in a performance by a musical group, Septeto Habanero, that has been performing for 90 years.
Eliades Ochoa later told the Press Association that he spoke to Prince Charles about how his visit to Cuba has inspired him musically.
Ochoa said that he told the Prince “with your visit, we are given the strength to form another Buena Vista Social Club. We are grateful that you are here.”
The duo then broke off for solo engagements, with Prince Charles making an unannounced visit to Mariel Solar Park and Biomass Harvesters. His visit to the Mariel Solar Park marked the beginning of its construction, and, when completed, it will be the largest solar project in the Caribbean.
At Biomass Harvesters, Prince Charles saw how the company is harvesting the marabú weed to produce biomass energy.
Meanwhile, the Duchess of Cornwall paid a visit to the Federation of Cuban Women, where she met with women from different walks of life to learn how Cuba is “combatting domestic violence and providing protection and support for victims and families,” per Clarence House.
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Speaking to the Daily Mail, the Federation’s Prevention Officer, Mayra Diaz Garcia, said, “We are so glad the Duchess has come to see all we have achieved here, and we hope that can be replicated by women who live in difficult conditions around the world.”
Garcia was speaking about how equal rights and equal pay exist in Cuba. At the roundtable discussion, Her Royal Highness also learned that Cuba has the second-highest number of women in Parliament anywhere in the world.
Afterwards, the Duchess of Cornwall watched a salsa dance presentation at the Paso de Paso Dance Company’s studio with Cuba’s First Lady, Lis Cuesta Peraza. She told the dancers that she’d been trying to learn the salsa herself, and proclaimed that their performance was “brilliant.”
The Prince visited the Finca Marta organic farm, which was created in 2011, and took a tour of the farm that included the weather monitoring station, the well, the animal barn, the biomass project, the beekeeping, and vegetable areas.
Prince Charles marked his visit to Finca Marta by planting a tree.
At their final engagement of the day, Charles and Camilla attended a Gala Cultural performance at the Gran Teatro Alicia Alonso which included performances by The Cuban National Ballet, Acosta Danza, and Danza Contemporanea.
Tomorrow, the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall will wrap up their historic visit to Cuba and will continue to the Cayman Islands.
