The Cuban content creator and comedian Karel Morlans Alemán is going viral on Instagram with a double entendre video that sums up the reality of the island: "The magnesium doesn't fall".
Karel explains that he has been without electricity for 23 hours and needs to heat water in a cauldron to take a shower. In Havana, the hardness of the water is such that the pots where liquid is typically boiled slowly develop a thick layer of magnesium sediment. Eventually, they break apart and remain like stones at the bottom.
"This is the kettle I use to heat water for my bath. You all forgot about it because most of you left the country, but those of us who are still here continue to heat our water with this," says the Cuban, showing his old kettle to the camera.
Unable to use it, he decides to go out into the street and hit it to loosen the incrustations. What happens next is the heart of the video.
"I go out into the street and start banging so the magnesia falls, and at that hour all the neighbors come out to join me," he says. This is how he describes how the entire neighborhood joins in with the chant: "Let it fall, let it fall!"
The double meaning is impossible to ignore for any Cuban. The nightly protests with pots and pans have spread across the island since early March 2026, where citizens bang pots from balconies and streets to demand an end to blackouts and the fall of the regime.
The young man ends the video with resignation and humor: "The magnesia doesn't fall. So you know, another day more."
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