Minguito, the man who came out of the water with his old television, receives a new one in Santiago de Cuba

Minguito went viral, unwittingly, amid the disaster that the east of Cuba was experiencing following the passage of Hurricane Melissa.

Emerging from the water, clutching his old television set as if it were a memory or a piece of himself, he became an iconic image: the hope of the Cuban people in the face of the devastation that struck the eastern part of the country before and after the hurricane.

This Monday, Cuban activist Yasser Sosa Tamayo announced on Facebook that Minguito, whose real name is Armando Álvarez and is the subject of that photograph that went around the world, received a new television and 20,000 pesos.

The gesture was made possible thanks to the donation from Guillermo Rodríguez Sánchez and Verona Bonce, who —according to Sosa— not only provided material goods but also “hope.”

"Alongside me, the young group that came from Ciego de Ávila, bringing empathy, strength, and love. They are led by Mijail Garcia, that jeweler who not only polishes gold but also hearts," he added.

"We gave them a flat-screen television and 20,000 pesos, courtesy of Guillermo and Verona. There, in their humble house made of wood and dignity, there was an energy that cannot be bought: the energy of witnessing someone rise again who refused to sink," wrote the activist, who emphasized that they will continue to visit affected communities in the eastern part of the country.

Sosa celebrated the meeting with a message full of optimism: “Minguito is smiling again. Today, a bomb of love exploded in Santiago,” he wrote, along with a photo showing the man receiving his new television.

In the comments section, Sosa concluded the post with a beautiful phrase: "Sometimes the news is not the tragedy, but the way a people decides to rise. Today Minguito believed again, and so did we."

The image of Minguito was first published a few hours after Hurricane Melissa, a category 3 hurricane, passed through the eastern region.

A photographer from the agency AFP captured him emerging from the water with his television in his arms, following the passage of the cyclone through Santiago de Cuba.

The photo quickly went viral on social media, becoming a symbol of the Cuban resistance amidst the catastrophe.

Days later, due to the great commotion that his story caused, the protagonist was located and identified as Armando “Minguito” Álvarez, who recounted that he lost almost everything during the cyclone but managed to rescue his television “out of habit, out of affection.”

"Nobody has brought me help or anything, but I'm still here," he said, surrounded by mud and debris.

His phrase and gesture became a metaphor for life in Cuba: clinging to what little remains, enduring in the face of scarcity, finding dignity amidst abandonment.