A Cuban resident in Spain publicly denounced his father, Ernesto Marcos Montoya, an employee of the state-owned and sole Telecommunications Company of Cuba S.A. (Etecsa), after seeing him parade this Friday with a cup in hand at the May Day event in Plaza Antonio Maceo in Santiago de Cuba, while he financially supports him from abroad.
The case was reported by the independent journalist Yosmany Mayeta Labrada in a video posted on Facebook titled "My cup is not made of crystal, but my son's money is."
In the clip, the father appears in a festive and defiant tone: "This is my cup. My cup is not made of crystal, just like my heart. This is for my son in Spain... Joy is what we have here. Long live free Cuba!"
Montoya, involved in inspection work for undersea fiber optic cables in the Siboney area, also issued a direct provocation to the United States government. "Let the beast come; we are waiting for it."
The son publicly responded through Mayeta Labrada with a message that mixes pain and frustration. "Completely sad. I get up at 5:30 a.m., and I see many messages that only care about financial help, and seeing this now disappoints me. They even told me that I'm the disappointment of the family. But they don't stop asking for money."
Despite the disappointment, it was the son himself who authorized the release of the video with a phrase that says it all: "Even if she's my blood, post it, Mayeta."
The father tried to justify himself in writing, arguing that "walking in a conga doesn't mean there is no hunger," that he is not a communist but a patriot, and that "in the meantime, we're going to drink beer and enjoy ourselves."
The May Day parade in Santiago de Cuba was marked by allegations of forced participation. Dozens of recently released former inmates were compelled to march under the threat of losing legal benefits or returning to prison, and children were pulled from their schools to bolster the ranks.
The central event in Havana was presided over by Raúl Castro, aged 94, alongside the ruling Miguel Díaz-Canel, in a country facing power outages of more than 20 hours a day and a projected economic contraction of 7.2% for 2026.
The reaction on social media was immediate and outraged. "There are many like this, living off those from there while defending those from here, hypocrites, two-faced," wrote Sabina P. Rabel.
Martha Ruiz was more direct in stating that "no more remittance, no more combo, let it sustain itself with its own revolutionary poison."
Other users pointed to a deeper pattern. "The problem is that they are trained and threatened by tyranny," noted Yudel López Rojas, while Ruben Salmon compared the situation to those who "have Stockholm syndrome" and still continue to ask for top-ups and remittances.
The phenomenon is not new. In 2019, the Cuban Yashell Uranga demonstrated from Dallas, Texas, how he carried tires for three hours to earn the 20 or 30 dollars it costs for a recharge for Cuba.
In December 2025, another Cuban in the United States went viral showing his frozen hands while removing snow as he explained the true value of each peso sent to the island.
Approximately 223,000 Cubans currently reside in Spain, and 77% of emigrated Cubans send some form of financial assistance to their families on the island, according to data from the National Office of Statistics and Information.
"Even if he's my blood, lift it up Mayeta," said the son. A phrase that, for thousands of Cubans abroad who support their loved ones from afar, encapsulates a contradiction that hurts more than any blackout.
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