A video generated with artificial intelligence envisioning a modern viaduct in Santiago de Cuba, presented as part of the Central Highway, has gone viral on TikTok and sparked a wave of emotional reactions among Cubans both on the island and abroad. The clip, posted by the account @historiamerica, has amassed nearly 15,000 views in less than 24 hours.
The 30-second video features hyper-realistic images of a multi-lane viaduct with active vehicular traffic, arching metal structures in golden tones, the bay of Santiago de Cuba, the colonial cathedral, and the Sierra Maestra in the background, all under a dramatic sunset sky. A visible sign in the sequence reads "WELCOME TO SANTIAGO DE CUBA." The images do not correspond to any real infrastructure: Santiago de Cuba does not have any modern viaduct of that kind.
The clip has received 580 likes, 27 comments, and 27 shares, figures that reflect the emotional impact of content that contrasts sharply with the reality of Cuba's road infrastructure. The same account posted another viral video of the Habana-Miami bridge last Friday, also garnering thousands of views.
The Central Highway, a symbolic protagonist of the video, is a work of immense historical value for Cubans. Built between 1927 and 1931 under the government of Gerardo Machado, it connects Pinar del Río with Santiago de Cuba over a distance of 1,139 kilometers, with kilometer 0 located at the Capitol in Havana. Its construction required around 11,000 workers, cost 111 million pesos, and was carried out by the Cuban Contractors Company and Warren Brothers Company of Boston. It is regarded as one of the seven wonders of Cuban civil engineering.
The gap between that legacy and the present is stark. In 2025, only 29% of Cuban roads were in good condition, according to official data. Deep potholes and impassable sections are the norm, and the authorities themselves acknowledge that they lack the technologies and resources for the extensive maintenance that the roads require. Last Tuesday, an accident in Santo Domingo, Villa Clara on the Central Highway left 18 injured.
That gap between the imagined Cuba and the real Cuba is precisely what fuels the trend. In January 2026, the account @ilovecubita digitally transformed Havana ruins into restored buildings, generating a wave of nostalgia. That same month, a video recreated with AI the capture of Raúl Castro and Díaz-Canel, accumulating tens of thousands of views and comments such as "Today AI, tomorrow reality!" and "I'm going to save this to visualize it daily."
The phenomenon takes place during an unusual moment of political anticipation, with statements regarding possible rapprochements between Cuba and the United States that foster hope for change among the diaspora and Cubans on the island. As a Cuban summarized in a video about the current state of the road: "Between the blackouts and the potholes on the road, this is a total problem."
The trend of artificial intelligence videos envisioning a modern and prosperous Cuba shows no signs of slowing down, and each new installment garners thousands of reactions from a community that has been waiting for decades to see the infrastructure that AI can only barely simulate become a reality.
Filed under: