A Cuban celebrated her birthday this past Sunday in the midst of a blackout and without gas, in a story that encapsulates the everyday reality of millions of families on the island.
The TikTok account @briana5254 (Brianita_vlog) documented the celebration, which included spicy shrimp, tomato salad, taro puree, sweets, turnovers, and croquettes, all prepared despite the power shortages affecting the country.
The narrator of the video warned from the start that this menu is not within everyone's reach: "Not everyone here, with their simple monthly salary, can afford this meal, because just imagine that here 1 lb of shrimp can cost you almost as much as a teacher earns in a month".
Only those who have their own businesses, additional income, or receive remittances from abroad can afford that type of food, as the author herself explained: "Here, anyone who has a business or some income aside from their fixed salary, or who maintains it from abroad, I think can do this even if it's just once a month."
Despite the limitations, the celebration was emotional. The birthday girl's husband prepared the spicy shrimp, which, according to the narrator, "were finger-licking good." In the afternoon, the group sang happy birthday, shared sweets, cold salad, pastries, and croquettes, while the birthday girl's mother decorated the room and everyone took photos.
The episode occurs at the worst moment of the Cuban energy crisis. During March 2026, the country experienced at least three total blackouts of the National Electric System, with a generation deficit that reached 2,046 MW during peak hours. In provinces like Matanzas, the cuts exceeded 30 hours per day.
The scarcity of liquefied gas for cooking runs parallel to the electrical crisis, forcing Cubans to resort to firewood or charcoal as an alternative.
The story of this Cuban who celebrated her birthday with a blackout and without gas is, at the same time, a portrait of the precariousness imposed by 67 years of dictatorship and a testament to the resilience of a people who refuse to stop celebrating life.
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