The Cuban singer and vlogger Victoria Queen posted a video on Instagram this Monday in Vietnam, where she explored the narrow underground passages with her son Mateo that served as shelter and military base during the Vietnam War.
Victoria describes the experience as one of the most impactful of her journey: "Would you go into an underground tunnel to survive the war in Vietnam? This is just one of the experiences we had on our tour."
The vlogger recounts that her son, despite his fear of the unknown, decided to embrace the adventure: "My son told me he was scared, but he still jumped in to live the adventure."
During the journey, Mateo moved ahead of his mother due to his size, and she lost sight of him in the darkness. "I exited the first tunnel with my heart in my throat. Mateo advanced very quickly because of his size and got ahead of me. I was shouting his name in the complete darkness," she recounted. The group had a guide at the front, which allowed the mother and son to reunite.
Victoria explains in the video that the tunnels have three levels of depth and extremely narrow corridors, emphasizing that they were not just simple shelters.
"They were not just tunnels to hide in. They were a city underground. They had hospitals, stored weapons, food, and had routes to move undetected and launch surprise attacks. It was a daily survival."
The description of the conditions inside the tunnels is striking: "Imagine walking hunched over with insects, darkness, and little oxygen. You enter for minutes, but others have lived there for years."
The Củ Chi tunnels consist of a subterranean network over 250 km long located about seventy kilometers northwest of Ho Chi Minh City, constructed between 1946 and 1968 using rudimentary tools.
They hosted up to 10,000 people and were crucial in the Tet Offensive of 1968 and in the Vietnamese victory of 1975. Today, they are a top tourist destination and are nominated to become part of the UNESCO World Heritage.
The post generated varied comments. One user directly accused Victoria of traveling to a place like that: "This goes against the American dream, you’re a communist." Others celebrated the artist's bravery in delving into that labyrinth and sharing a glimpse of the history of that country.
The video is part of a growing trend of emigrated Cubans documenting their travel experiences in various places around the world, creating content that blends tourism, identity, and personal reflection.
"Would you spend a night down here?" asked Victoria of her followers.
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