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The Cuban content creator Lilianne, known on social media as Lili.cubana, showed in a video how she had to cook at three in the morning after a 24-hour power outage, a scene that is becoming increasingly common in the daily life of the island.
“24 hours in blackout. Three in the morning and we’re going to cook,” he says at the beginning of the video, where he explains that he took advantage of the momentary return of electricity to prepare food.
In the recording, she is seen cooking shelled green peas and chicken seasoned with salt, cilantro, and achiote.
While preparing the recipe, she explains some details of the home process that she improvises at that hour of the night, such as cutting the chicken to cook it faster or preparing a sauté with chorizo, garlic, chili, and onion.
"Look at how this turned out… finger-licking good," concludes the influencer as she showcases the final result of the dish.
The scene, seemingly ordinary, nevertheless reflects a reality that has become common in many Cuban households: reorganizing domestic life around the unpredictable electricity schedules.
On social media, the comments on the video highlighted this contrast. Some users pointed out that many families don't even have enough food to cook.
"You're lucky to have food because most Cubans don't even have rice or eggs," wrote an internet user.
Another comment summarized the exhaustion brought on by these nighttime routines: “At that hour, I went to bed, right in the middle of the same work. What a crap life.”
Similar scenes frequently recur on social media. Recently, a Cuban woman shared that she woke up at 3:40 AM to soak beans while the brief return of electricity lasted.
Her post went viral and garnered thousands of reactions from people who described similar routines: cooking, washing, charging phones, or filling water tanks during the early morning hours.
The testimonies reflect how the energy crisis has transformed daily life on the island. For many families, the nighttime rest has been replaced by fragmented home routines that depend on when electricity returns.
In a country marked by prolonged blackouts, gas shortages, and high coal prices, basic tasks such as cooking or preserving food have turned into a constant exercise in improvisation.
For thousands of households, the early morning is no longer synonymous with rest, but rather the only time available for cooking.
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