The Cuban content creator Blenda López, who has been residing in Spain for about two years, posted a video on Instagram recounting her first 48 hours back in Cuba, which were marked from the very first moment by a nationwide blackout.
The video has accumulated over 13,000 views and close to 910 reactions.
"I arrived and obviously there was a power outage. It was a nationwide blackout. I mean, what a welcome. But I don't mind, my love. Because my mom had made me some really delicious food," López humorously recounted with a sense of resignation in the video.
The young woman arrived on the island around March 22, just as the National Electroenergy System (SEN) had just experienced its second total disconnection in a week.
The blackout of March 22, caused by the cascading failure of Unit 6 at the Nuevitas thermoelectric plant in Camagüey, left over 90% of Havana without electricity.
Her second day in Cuba also went without electricity. According to her account, the neighbors managed to restore the service with a pot-banging protest, although the results were limited.
"The light was on from 11 PM to 4 AM. I took the opportunity to take a shower, record a YouTube video, my mom cooked, started the washing machine, and boiled water."
In those five hours, the entire family mobilized to meet the basic needs that had accumulated during the outage.
Beyond the blackouts, López documented other realities of daily life in Cuba: the necessity of carrying large amounts of cash for any purchase and the unsanitary condition of the streets in his neighborhood.
"The worst part of all this is that you find trash bins on every corner, on every street, in every block. Of course, there are thousands of infections, diseases, epidemics. Yes, this is the most inhumane and unsanitary thing that exists," he denounced.
Like many Cubans in the diaspora, López arrived with products brought from Europe in his suitcase, known as "pacotilla," a widespread and essential practice for families on the island. This made his stay in the country easier.
"Thus were my first 48 hours in Cuba," López concluded his account, with the same tone that summarized his entire experience: "Always magnificent, always vibrant."
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