Speechless! Young chef cooks for the homeless in Cuba: "They were hoping to find something to eat in the trash."

A young Cuban woman touches hearts as she distributes food to homeless individuals in Havana, highlighting the economic crisis the country is facing and sparking a debate about poverty in Cuba.

Cuban on the islandFoto © @_meli_martinez__ / TikTok

A young Cuban woman has touched the hearts of thousands of social media users after sharing a video of herself cooking and distributing food to homeless people on the streets of Cuba, amidst the deep economic crisis the country is facing.

In the video posted on her TikTok account @meli_martinez_, the young woman demonstrates how she prepares a huge piece of pork, carefully marinates it, and after cooking it, goes out to distribute portions along with soft drinks to those in need.

"Cooking with love in Cuba. I realized how happy we made these people who hadn't eaten anything all day and were hoping to find something in the trash," commented the Cuban in the post, which quickly went viral and has generated hundreds of messages of admiration and gratitude.

The images depict the contrast between the abundance of the feast she prepares and the harsh reality faced by those living on the streets, a reflection of the misery that affects thousands of Cubans due to the failure of the socialist economic model imposed by the regime.

TikTok users and others applauded the young woman's gesture of solidarity, highlighting her empathy in a context where food shortages, high prices, and a lack of opportunities keep much of the Cuban people in a daily struggle for survival.

The video has been shared thousands of times and has sparked a debate about the growing poverty on the island, where many rely on charity or searching through garbage to find food to eat.

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Yare Grau

Originally from Cuba, but living in Spain. I studied Social Communication at the University of Havana and later graduated in Audiovisual Communication from the University of Valencia. I am currently part of the CiberCuba team as an editor in the Entertainment section.