"It's been a while since we stopped being the rear guard": the emotional words of Ulises Toirac to the Cuban woman

The Cuban actor and comedian Ulises Toirac posted a message dedicated to Cuban women on March 8 in commemoration of International Women's Day in a post shared on his Facebook profile.

The text was accompanied by an allegorical illustration featuring a woman in a long dress surrounded by symbolic elements such as books, gears, flowers, and a torch.

In his message, Toirac reflected on the role of women in society and their evolution beyond the domestic sphere. “For a while now, women have stopped being the ones in the background. The Cuban woman is not just the one who deals with the kids and a thousand things at home. She is stepping out into the world, even with more determination, ready to take it on,” he wrote.

The comedian also noted that women possess, in his view, qualities associated with care and foresight. In that regard, he affirmed: "She generally has an innate sense of order and logic. Her longstanding concern for the consequences in caring for her offspring has endowed her with an undeniable sense of the future."

He added later that women are a "source of delicacy" and that they have "an infinitely gentler gaze (I repeat, generally) that allows for better empathy."

In another part of the text, it refers to the stages of a woman's life and the process of motherhood: “They leave childhood behind first because they are burdened earlier by their fertility; they possess the miracle of creating little beings in their womb.”

The message concludes with a reflection on what it considers to be the greatest strength of women: “Their greatest power lies in not going through the world boasting of their superiority. And they have it.”

The post by Toirac was shared during the events of March 8, a day in Cuba marked by discussions on social media regarding the everyday reality of many women in the country. In this context, numerous comments also questioned official messages related to the commemoration, as occurred after the congratulatory message issued by Miguel Díaz-Canel for International Women's Day, which sparked criticism online amidst prolonged blackouts, food shortages, and other difficulties affecting the daily lives of many families.