Cuban comedians Miguel Moreno («La Llave») and Carlos Gonzalvo («Mentepollo») published this week a segment from their program «Frenarte Show» on Instagram where the National Economy, personified as a desperate woman, goes to consult a babalawo because she has run out of options.
The clip was published on the channel La Risa Nostra and quickly became one of the most talked-about sketches in the Cuban community on social media.
The National Economy appears before the Yoruba priest visibly depressed and with a fractured arm. His diagnosis is as precise as it is devastating: "Since my left arm was fractured, I no longer have anything to hold on to. You know I am left-handed and I don't know how to manage with my right."
The phrase is a direct allusion to the collapse of Cuba's alliance with Venezuela and other governments led by leftist presidents in the region, as well as the regime's inability to adopt market policies that could pull the country out of the abyss.
The character continues his lament in front of the babalawo: “Godfather, for a little while now I feel like I’m going backward, backward, backward, that I’m not getting ahead.” And he concludes with a question that captures the sentiment of millions of Cubans: “Oh, godfather, could it be that my time is running out?.”
The babalawo's closing words are the phrase that has circulated the most among the program's followers: "Don't worry, my daughter, you are the one who is going to bury us."
To prevent greater harm, the babalawo advises the National Economy on the animals that should be sacrificed to perform ebbó (spiritual cleansing).
“Just one animal won’t do. You need to sacrifice about eight! Bring me three pigs, five goats, of which three should be gray and two should be scapegoats. Oh, and a crab,” said the religious figure. The last animal left the National Economy astonished: “Oh godfather... Where am I supposed to get that?”
The dark humor of the sketch directly connects with the reality of life on the island.
Cuba's economy could contract by 7.2% in 2026, according to projections from The Economist Intelligence Unit, accumulating a decline of 23% since 2019. The projected fiscal deficit for this year exceeds 74.5 billion Cuban pesos.
The energy crisis worsened in January with the capture of Nicolás Maduro, which disrupted between 25,000 and 30,000 daily barrels of Venezuelan oil, causing blackouts of up to 25 hours. More than 600,000 Cubans have left the island since 2022.
In that context, the figure of the babalawo is especially effective as a metaphor: if the economy needs to consult a religious leader for guidance, it is because rational solutions have long since run out.
The full chapter is available on the YouTube channel La Risa Nostra.
The audience's reaction was swift. "Humor at its finest, thank you very much for making these videos," wrote a follower.
"A masterpiece, tough," pointed out another. A third comment paraphrased the sketch with a variation that became a saying of its own: "Since the left fractured, I have no place to lean on."
Another user summed up the spirit of the sketch in three words: "Brilliant. To a good understanding..."
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