The Cuban YouTuber and influencer Dina Stars posted a reel on Instagram titled 'A Quick Bite', in which she responds firmly to a follower who questioned her political journey on social media and accused her of acting out of convenience.
The video has gathered over 200,000 views, more than 16,000 'likes', and over 700 comments in just a few hours.
Dina Stars —the stage name of Dinorah Castillejo, born in Cuba in 1995 and residing in Madrid since 2021— kicks off the clip with the question posed by a social media user: "Who the hell are you, Dina Stars?"
"I was the one who, seven years ago, made a video denouncing the police in Cuba because they attempted to assault me and the authorities did absolutely nothing." This is how she began reviewing complaints against the regime, point by point, detailing her history of activism and the personal costs it has entailed.
She assured that the first denunciation video, published around 2019, reached almost 700,000 views and was picked up by Spanish and American news outlets. "I lost my six-year job because of that," states the youtuber.
Despite the impact, the smear campaign was swift to arrive: "Right at the moment the video went super viral, I was seen as brave for exposing what was happening in Cuba. And shortly after, I became the person who supposedly faked her own assault. Simply because that video gained views. Let it be clear that that video was never monetized."
Dina Stars also recalled her participation in the protests of July 11, 2021, the largest demonstrations in Cuba since the 1990s. She remembers going out into the streets to shout 'Homeland and Life', 'down with the dictatorship', and 'down with Díaz-Canel', and she put her platforms —YouTube and Instagram— at the service of the denunciation.
"I was the person who spoke out on July 11 and used all my social media, both YouTube and Instagram, to denounce the repression against the Cubans," she recalls.
The most dramatic moment came on July 13, 2021, when the Cuban State Security detained her while she was giving a live interview on the Spanish program 'Todo es mentira' on Cuatro.
"In one of those interviews, I was taken into custody, and it was all recorded. Not only was the moment of my arrest captured, but also the uncertainty and fear of my friends," she recounts.
She was accused of 'incitement to commit a crime' and was released approximately 24 hours later, following a statement from the United States embassy. Nevertheless, she continued to give interviews while receiving intimidating calls inquiring about her mother's health, as her colleagues remained imprisoned.
What seems to hurt him the most is the subsequent betrayal from those same companions.
"Those colleagues, when they were released, what they did was create fake profiles to say that I did all of that for views and money. 'Where is that money?'", she asks ironically.
The influencer also recalled that she was invited to Germany to present a documentary in which she is the protagonist, and that she participated in the film 'Patria y Vida' by Yotuel.
Dina Stars concludes the reel with a statement that summarizes her stance. "Everything I have done for my country, I have done out of my own conviction, because it is what I feel and what I endure. And I don’t need anyone's approval."
The Cuban woman sends one last message to those who question her without knowing her story: "I am Dina to my friends and family, Dina Stars to you. And if you have no idea what I have done, I invite you to Google me, and you'll find 1500 interviews raising my voice for my country."
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