The Cuban creator El Henry, known on TikTok for his sense of humor and ingenious way of showcasing daily life in Cuba, recently shared a video that surprised his followers. This time there were no laughs or jokes, but rather an outpouring: a direct portrayal of the exhaustion experienced on the island.
“There are days in Cuba when you’re not sad, you’re just tired, tired of waiting, tired of the power being out for hours, looking at the clock and saying, damn, when am I going to be able to cook now?” says @itss_henryyy_ at the beginning. “And it’s not just the blackout; it’s that there’s no gas, nothing at all. Then it gets to ten o'clock at night, and when the power finally returns, you don’t just cook for today; you cook for today and tomorrow just in case, so that you can wake up and at least have something to eat. That wears you down, it tires your mind.”
His reflection continues with a powerful statement that many have shared: “And if you are young, even more so, because you have dreams, you have the desire to grow, to improve, but opportunities here are few or almost nonexistent.”
The creator also explains the difficulties of staying active on social media: “That’s why you sometimes see me disappear for a while; it’s not due to a lack of interest or motivation, nor is it a lack of consistency. Often, it's just that my mind can't handle more, and many times the internet is unreliable, with limited bandwidth or a poor connection, which prevents me from doing live streams or uploading videos as regularly as I would like.”
The video, recorded without artifices and with a calm tone, received over a hundred comments. “Your best video. Decompression,” wrote one user. Another expressed: “Like many times you have made me laugh, today you made me cry. As a 55-year-old Cuban, I feel powerless for not being able to help the youth like you and all those on the island.”
"Only Cubans can understand that profound pain… I no longer live in Cuba, but I still have my family and friends there… it’s very tough," commented another person. From outside the country, someone added: "Oh God!! Your words have made me cry. My dream was always to leave Cuba. And I achieved it at 29… Living in Cuba without hope for anything is an agony and a constant suffering."
There were also words of encouragement: "How tough it is, brother. I'm sending you a big hug from Venezuela, and I hope everything changes soon in that wonderful country." "Take it easy, man, it’s almost over... don’t give up, soon this will just be a bad memory." Others left short but powerful phrases: "Stay strong, my brother; I hope God hears us and gives us a free country." "From the heart, asere. Cuba hurts too much."
The video ends with an image that has been shared as a symbol of the moment the country is experiencing: "Cuba is not an ugly country; Cuba is a beautiful country, a warm country, a place where people know how to love, where people know how to be happy, and today it feels like a wilted flower, not because it lacks beauty but because it is in need of care. I hope that one day living here is not just about enduring and resisting, but also about having the opportunity to progress and to be happy."
The video generated comments from users who usually follow his content, where he has humorously and closely shared the same everyday challenges, this time conveying them in a more serious tone. In one of them, he showed what can be bought with the minimum wage in Cuba: “I had to spend a little more on pizzas because it wasn't enough.” In another, he depicted his day as a bike messenger in Havana, pedaling through blackouts and potholes, while ironically stating: “As usual, I ended up exhausted.”
He also narrated the drama of withdrawing money from an ATM: “Since nothing ever goes well in Cuba, just three people before it was my turn, the power went out,” he recounted, later admitting that he had to “solve it through unofficial means.”
That contrast between laughter and tiredness explains why his new video has moved so many people. There are no satirical elements or exaggerated gestures, just the voice of a Cuban who, for a moment, stopped joking and spoke from exhaustion.
Days ago, creator Rosy Wanderlust also shared a similar message in which she stated: “In Cuba, we do not have the right to be happy, to live without stress, or to live with dignity”, while showing images of people charging their phones in the street during a blackout.
Both publications, differing in tone but united in sentiment, reflect the same: the weariness of a people who endure amid blackouts, long lines, shortages, and a hope that refuses to die.
The video of El Henry on TikTok has become one of the most talked-about testimonials of the moment, not for what it shows, but for what it conveys: the weary voice of an entire nation that still hopes to move forward and be happy.
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