The controversy surrounding a red cap with the phrase "Make Cuba Great Again" turned into a bold statement against intolerance and repression on the Island, after several young Cubans publicly defended the right to think differently and to express themselves without fear.
The video was shared on Instagram by the Cuban content creator Elieser El Bayardo, who introduced it with a message that sets the tone for the discussion.
"Make Cuba Great Again. Today, more than ever, freedom also means maturity and tolerance: accepting that not everyone will think the same way or represent our ideas. The debate surrounding a cap reminds us that a truly free Cuba is not built on intolerance but on respect, coexistence, and each person's right to express themselves without fear," he wrote.
In the audiovisual, Anna Sofía Benítez Silvente (Anna Bensi), Elieser himself, and the members of the Fuera de la Caja project respond to those who have questioned the red cap -similar to Donald Trump's, but with a different message.
Far from backing down in the face of criticism, the youth seized the debate as an opportunity to deliver a clear message against the culture of censorship that has characterized Cuba for decades.
"One day we will reach a free Cuba, but if we are not free in our minds, we will have achieved nothing. Freedom does not begin in the streets; freedom begins in the mind, it starts when we accept that not everyone will think like us," they state in the video.
The cap, whose slogan invites people to "make Cuba great again," provoked mixed reactions. Some interpreted it as inspiration; others saw it as a provocation.
There are those who compare her to Trump and say they feel uncomfortable.
But for these young people, the central point is not aesthetics or political reference.
"This cap is generating debate, even on both sides. (...) But the question is not whether you like the cap or not; the question is another: are we ready, is the Cuban ready to coexist with what does not represent us?" Elieser asked.
The message goes beyond just a piece of clothing. It is an open critique of the logic imposed by the Cuban regime for 67 years, where dissent has had real consequences: surveillance, repression, imprisonment, or exile.
"Hats do not divide a country; it is intolerance that divides. In a truly free Cuba, everyone should be able to wear whatever hat they want—black, red, blue, a rainbow, any hat—because freedom is not about surrounding yourself only with those who think like you; it is about learning to live with those who think differently."
The reflection points directly to the heart of the Cuban problem: the imposition of a single political narrative. "We have already lived 67 years in a system where dissent has had consequences; are we going to repeat that model, but with a different color?"
That sentence contains a clear warning: changing symbols without changing the authoritarian mindset would not signify a true transformation.
The youth also drew a red line. They clarified that freedom does not mean justifying abuses or glorifying oppression, because "the diversity of ideas is not a threat, it is the true proof that a country is free."
The approach is a direct challenge to the political culture of the regime, which for decades has promoted ideological uniformity as a condition for national belonging.
In contrast to that model, the young people advocate for plural coexistence.
"To be free is not to think the same; it is to be able to coexist without fear, to accept that there will be those who do not dress like you, do not vote like you, do not think like you, and yet to understand that they also have the right to raise their voice."
They conclude with a definition that encapsulates the generational demand: "A Cuba will not be one where everyone thinks the same, but one where no one is afraid to think differently."
The debate over a cap ended up turning into a profound questioning of the legacy of political intolerance that has defined a country for more than six decades.
For these young people, change cannot be limited to power structures; it must begin by dismantling the repressive mindset that has punished diversity of thought.
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