At least three girls in school uniform must cross the Mayarí river, in the province of Holguín, over a fallen tree trunk that serves as an improvised bridge, in order to attend school, according to a report on social media.
The post, signed by user Yamil Sánchez Aguilar, describes the young girls as "three princesses" and expresses gratitude to a young man who helps them, while accompanying the images with hashtags such as #Chivalry, #Nobility, #Generosity, and #Altruism, romanticizing a situation that actually reflects the abandonment of rural communities by the Cuban state.
In the 45-second video, the girls wear the usual school uniform: a red skirt, white shirt, white knee-high socks, black shoes, and backpacks in pink and black.
One of them is already moving along the trunk toward the opposite shore, while the other two wait their turn on the riverbank, surrounded by tropical vegetation and dark waters.
Far from being a picturesque act worthy of admiration, the scene reveals that these girls risk their physical safety every time they need to cross the river to go to or return from school, due to the lack of basic infrastructure.
A recurring problem in Holguín
The problem is neither new nor isolated in Holguín. In July 2024, a viral video showed elementary school students from "Raúl Gómez García" in Cueto crossing the Salado River with water up to their waists, next to a bridge construction project that began in 2018 and was abandoned unfinished.
In October 2024, the lack of a bridge over the Camarones River in Cacocum isolated more than 200 residents, including students who missed classes due to the floods.
In the municipality of Mayarí, children from the "Frank País" elementary school have been wading across the Mayarí Arriba river without a bridge since 2020, following the passage of Hurricane Eta, and in January 2025, the Ministry of Education of Holguín acknowledged "logistical difficulties" at that crossing without providing any solution.
The Mayarí River has already claimed two young lives on October 22, 2025, when Yaima Sotomayor Ramos and Yeiniel Tamayo Cedeño, 11-year-old students from the "Frank País García" Basic Secondary School, drowned after being swept away by the current.
Precariousness packaged as a virtue
The video of the trunk follows the same pattern as other narratives that frame Cuban precariousness as a virtue or picturesque quality. In January 2026, a Russian influencer sparked controversy by describing Cuba as "brilliant, warm, and full of life," showcasing classic cars and colonial facades without mentioning the humanitarian crisis.
The Cuban influencer Kevusho then accused that content creator of distorting reality and trivializing a humanitarian situation by only showcasing the superficial aspects of the Island.
In the 2024-2025 school year, 1,248 Cuban schools —15% of the total— were operating in precarious conditions or were closed, forcing 150,000 students to attend virtual classes or participate in shortened shifts, a figure that highlights the extent of the educational crisis that the regime prefers to ignore.
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