TikTok user @thaly47216 shared a video that quickly resonated with the Cuban community, showing her husband struggling to communicate with his family in Cuba, facing the usual connection issues. In the video, he attempts to make a call but repeatedly complains about the poor audio quality, saying things like, "this thing cuts out every 5 minutes" and "look, it's freezing up again."
Frustration mounts when the call drops, and the instructions begin: "Go out to the terrace and stick your hand out the balcony to see if you can catch at least a bar of signal." The scene elicits laughter from his wife, who, between giggles, ultimately admits how stressful it is to try to communicate with the island.
The post sparked a wave of reactions from Cubans who relate to the situation. Many shared their own experiences of trying to stay in touch with their families. One user recounted, “My mom tells me, ‘don’t hang up’, and I’m like, no way, goodbye, I can’t see you”; another commented that she tries to stay calm when talking to her mother, but ends up feeling upset: “That’s how I get with my mom, and she tells me, ‘sweetheart, you’re going to raise your blood pressure’, and I say, bye bye, I can’t handle this.”
Many agreed that it is frustrating and shared tips to improve communication. One user suggested using regular calls instead of video calls, while someone else recommended the Boss Revolución app for calls to Cuba. Others approached the topic with humor, saying that soon we might have to "resort to carrier pigeons" or, as another person mentioned, "send smoke signals."
The comments reflect both the frustration and the characteristic humor of Cubans, who seek to laugh in order not to cry. One follower summed up the experience by saying, “You laugh because a Cuban is full of life, but deep down, everyone with family there suffers daily seeing them struggle with shortages”; while another person added, “That’s exactly how I feel, I get stressed and start saying ridiculous things.”
This video by Thaly highlights the complicated situation of communications between Cuba and the outside world, exacerbated by the energy crisis and damage caused by natural disasters. While the tone of the video is light-hearted, it makes clear the daily challenge of staying in touch with loved ones on the island, a reality that many Cubans both within and outside their country fully understand.
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