The Cuban influencer Fiu Fiu (Rayner Tamayo) made headlines this Sunday with an emotional political moment as he entered the digital reality show El Desorden de Marko, broadcast live on YouTube. He took advantage of his appearance to declare himself "the voice of a country that cries" and demanded freedom for Cuba. In a second video, Fiu Fiu spoke out against Cuban influencers who refuse to raise their voices for those suffering on the island.
The program, created by Venezuelan comedian Marko Pérez —who has over 42 million followers on social media and won an Emmy in 2018—, began on Sunday and brings together between 15 and 17 participants from different countries who will live together for three and a half weeks in a house with cameras monitoring them 24/7. The four finalists will star in an original series produced by Marko.
Fiu Fiu was one of the first confirmed among the participants of the reality show. From the very moment of his entry, he made it clear what his position would be. "Today is the only day, and the only thing I come here to do is raise my voice for all of my Cuba. I have an entire country that is dying and crying from hunger, that needs freedom," he declared in front of the cameras.
The content creator, based in Miami, directly criticized the dictator Miguel Díaz-Canel and other officials of the Cuban regime, and expressed his solidarity with those fighting in Venezuela. "From here, we stand with all the people who are fighting in Cuba, for all the people who continue to fight for Venezuela, this reality has every opportunity to express itself against the dictatorial governments of the country," Marko stated.
The video of his entry accumulated over 15,000 views, 3,475 likes, and 346 comments in just a few hours. At another moment while speaking with Marko, Fiu Fiu lashed out at Cuban artists and influencers who, having gained fame thanks to the support of the Cuban public, refuse to speak up for those suffering on the island. "You are worthless if you cannot appreciate and speak up for what helped you grow," he stated.
The message from Fiu Fiu comes amid a debate that is shaking the Cuban exile community: the role of content creators in light of the political and humanitarian crisis in Cuba. The influencer Samantha Hernández was widely criticized days ago for refusing to speak on politics, and later responded to those criticisms regarding her silence in the face of the crisis in Cuba.
Meanwhile, figures like Rachel Arderi demanded the end of the dictatorship and Andy Vázquez explained the reality of the Cuban dictatorship to Samantha Hernández.
The personal journey of Fiu Fiu lends weight to his words: he emigrated from Cuba and traveled across Latin America, slept on subway stairs, and scavenged in dumpsters in Brazil before arriving in Miami with the help of two Cuban women who selflessly sent him money. "Either we are or we are not. Either we love our homeland or we do not love it. And Cuba does not belong to the Castros. Cuba belongs to all of us," he concluded.
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