The renowned Cuban actor Luis Alberto García resorted to his usual irony to respond to the official discourse against Christmas celebrations, after Lis Cuesta, wife of Miguel Díaz-Canel, and former Minister of Culture Abel Prieto dismissed the traditional symbols of these festivities as "imperialist" and "capitalist."
In a post published on his social media, García wrote: “I am grateful to this SUCCESSFUL State for thinking of all those of us who do not have Christmas trees (that imperialist relic, a symbol of cultural colonialism, according to what a black person published there).”
The reference to "a black man there" was interpreted by numerous users as a direct allusion to Abel Prieto, who had recently criticized Santa Claus and Christmas decorations in an article titled Encounters and Disencounters with Santa Claus.
García used sarcasm to highlight the constant blackouts that Cubans endure, referring to them as a "state initiative" to complement Christmas trees, by making home lights "flicker" to the rhythm of the power outages.
"It comes, it goes, it goes, it comes, they take it away again... the appliances that still survive the voltage fluctuations signal with their little sounds," he joked.
The post is an open response to the message from Lis Cuesta, who said on the social network X that a Christmas "should be about solidarity but it isn't always like that." Her message, accompanied by Prieto's text, was widely criticized for its ideological tone and its disconnection from the everyday reality of Cubans.
At the end of his message, García noted: “Fortunately, any damaged equipment is replaced in less than 72 hours with the same brand and price. Isn’t that right?” This was a clear criticism of the official false triumphant attitude and the lack of real solutions.
The message, shared and commented on thousands of times, has made García one of the sharpest voices in the Cuban cultural landscape, able to articulate what many think but do not dare to express openly.
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