The Cuban actress Judith González, known for her comedic character 'Magdalena La Pelúa', and the content creator Ariel Ramos experienced a shocking episode during a live stream on TikTok broadcast from Café Cantante in Miami: at the moment they started discussing Cuba, only 76 viewers abruptly remained in the stream. This was recounted by the actress herself in a video where she reacts to the incident.
The live stream had more than 200 people connected when both artists shared a video by analyst Yurek Basque about the situation on the island. Before the video ended, the massive exodus was already a reality. "Over two hundred people in the live. And suddenly we started talking about the topic of Cuba... and the live dropped to 76 people. 76 people," recounted Judith González, visibly disturbed.
Both of their reactions were one of shock and indignation. "Oh my God, what we just experienced right now," the actress exclaimed at the beginning of the video in which she described the incident. "I was left speechless. I truly am impressed. I say, it can't be. Who gets hurt when we’re talking about this topic?"
Judith González was quick to point out that the phenomenon doesn’t completely surprise her, although it does outrage her. She acknowledged that discussing politics has cost her followers and opportunities. Ariel Ramos used the metaphor of "the guagua" to illustrate how many Cubans, once they achieve their own well-being in exile, stop caring about those who were left behind: "People don’t want us, let's say, artists, to talk about politics. And people tend to forget that I am Cuban and that my voice carries a connotation."
But the actress was emphatic: she does not intend to stay silent. "I will never stop talking about Cuba," she stated. She added: "People who say, I don't talk about politics, are messed up because everything is politics. The bad politics carried out by a dictatorship for 67 years has ruined our lives as Cubans. And if you don't truly have that sensitivity, you're lost."
The incident occurred in the context of the most intense protests in Cuba since July 11, 2021. Since March 7, Havana and other provinces have experienced nighttime pot-banging, trash burning in the streets, and peaceful sit-ins, triggered by the collapse of the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant on March 5, which left more than 68% of the island without electricity simultaneously —the worst blackout in the country’s history— with outages exceeding 20 hours daily.
The Cubans setting streets on fire during blackouts and the casserole protests in Havana on consecutive days set the stage for the live event. Judith González interpreted the regime's silence in the face of the protests as a significant signal: "The silence of the dictatorship at this moment, while Havana is literally ablaze, because they are setting fires, putting up posters everywhere, the dictators remain silent. So this is being discussed and negotiated, and do not lose hope."
Ariel Ramos, who arrived in the United States in May 2024 and went viral on TikTok for videos with his grandmother Martha, shared the astonishment of his colleague. Both are scheduled to perform at Café Cantante in Miami this Saturday night with the characters of Magdalena and Kevin.
This is not the first time Judith González has faced such reactions. The actress had already spoken out about protests in Cuba in March 2024, predicting an inevitable change on the island at that time. Her stance has been consistent since the demonstrations of July 11, 2021, when she called the situation the Cubans were experiencing shameful.
"Long live a free Cuba, down with the dictatorship, and we have less time left," concluded Judith González, reaffirming that no defection of supporters will make her abandon her stance.
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