Several Cuban children turned a huge pothole filled with water into a fun pool in Pinar del Río, Cuba, in an image that encapsulates the state of neglect of the road infrastructure on the island.
A video of just twenty seconds published by the user Yusniel Forteza with the caption "Where could it be??? P. del Río..." quickly went viral, accumulating over 127,000 views.
The scene is not an isolated incident. Since at least 2022, similar cases have been documented in various provinces across the country, where potholes flooded by rain or broken pipes turn into makeshift swimming pools for children who lack proper recreational spaces.
In August 2022, a photograph posted on Facebook by the user Jacob Morris showed several children playing in a hole filled with stagnant water, with comments like "These are conditions of a primitive community".
In April 2024, a pothole crossed by a pipe from Aguas de La Habana became a children's pool in the capital. In July of the same year, another similar case circulated on social media with at least four minors visible. In September 2023, a Cuban humorously baptized a Havana pothole as "Piscina El Resplandor".
In Pinar del Río, residents report deep potholes, extensive cracks, lack of paving, absence of lighting, and insufficient signage.
In August 2024, a pothole in that same province swallowed the wheel of a truck, sparking ironic comments on social media.
The deterioration of the roads is not just an aesthetic issue: it has claimed lives. In December 2025, a cyclist died after falling into a huge hole on a street in Havana.
In May 2025, two motorcyclists nearly fell into a hole with black water in Santiago de Cuba.
The Minister of Transport himself acknowledged in January 2026 the accumulated deterioration of the country's roads, admitting that the crisis "takes its toll," although he did not provide specific short-term solutions.
The image of Cuban children using a pothole as a pool starkly reflects decades of institutional neglect: the precariousness of infrastructure and the scarcity of recreational spaces are two sides of the same crisis that the regime has neither been able to nor willing to resolve.
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