Gisela Flores, a Cuban tourist visiting Cuba, witnessed firsthand the sad reality that Cubans face.
Flores shared the moments that impacted him during his trip and about the Cuban reality that "gets worse every day."
"Seeing trash scattered all over the capital and old houses with people still living there"; "most Cubans don't have electricity for many hours"; "no mobile operator has coverage in Cuba, so I arrived and was left without internet," the young woman shared about her experience.
"People searching for trash in the street," "if you have a serious operation, you have to get everything you need by your own means," "shortage of basic foods," he added.
This Peruvian captured very well the difference between tourists and locals, who would find it difficult to gather "months or years" of savings to spend a few days in a resort.
"Many say that in Cuba, you don’t live, you survive (…) What tourists experience is not lived by even 1% of Cubans," he added.
The experience of this Cuban adds to an endless list of accounts of tourists overwhelmed by the reality of the island.
Yesterday, the Argentine creator Rocío Juanes went viral on TikTok after sharing that she was scammed as soon as she arrived in Havana. Her story, narrated with humor and authenticity, sparked thousands of comments from travelers and Cubans who debated the charm, cleverness, and shortcomings of the island.
“I was scammed as soon as I arrived in Havana,” Rocío begins her first video. “As soon as I step out of the hotel, everyone rushes towards me asking for things or trying to talk to me, but they’re all men. So, when a woman approached me, I thought it would be different.”
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