Sandro Castro, grandson of Fidel Castro, carried out a new community assistance event on Monday at the Juan Delgado park in Havana, where he distributed food, medicine, and snacks to children.
This is the fourth known installment of the solidarity campaign that Castro started on April 20, when he published his first video distributing food boxes on the run-down streets of the Cuban capital.
During the event, Castro —wearing a white T-shirt featuring the design of the Cuban flag— handed out disposable containers with food, jars of medication, and cloth bags to elderly individuals, women, and children in the area. A barber also participated by offering free haircuts, and the neighborhood children received candies that sparked scenes of excitement.
In the video accompanying the event, Castro described the spirit of the day with these words: "Today we came to bring joy to hearts, we came to provide a bit of medicine, a bit of food, and a lot of heart, because when we truly share, Cuba becomes greater."
He also stated: "We may not solve the world's problems, but today we bring joy to many people," and added, "We spread the message that they are not alone, that they have us."
The environment in which the activity took place reflects the reality facing Havana: rubble and visible urban decay in the background of the images, in a neighborhood where the crisis is felt intensely.
The events of this Monday come days after Castro stated on Instagram that there is no greater happiness in his heart than helping his Cuba, during the third installment of his campaign.
A few days earlier, after the first distribution, Castro announced that he would continue and expand the initiative alongside influencers, individuals from the private sector, and private citizens.
The campaign takes place in the context of the most severe humanitarian crisis Cuba has faced in decades, characterized by power outages of up to 24 hours a day, a critical shortage of food, and pensions lower than 10 dollars a month. 80% of Cubans believe that the current situation is worse than the Special Period of the 1990s.
Reactions to the campaign are mixed. A majority support the gesture pragmatically, while a minority describe it as a "circus" or "image-laundering," pointing out that Castro owns the EFE bar in Vedado, which has a minimum spend of 15,000 Cuban pesos per table, equivalent to more than two months' worth of the average Cuban salary. Other comments demand that he take a stand on the dictatorship or political prisoners.
Castro has been at the center of public debate for months: in March, The New York Times featured an extensive profile, and in interviews with CNN en Español and NBC, he criticized Díaz-Canel and declared himself "revolutionary yes, communist no."
At the end of the video from this Monday's event, Castro summarized the experience with a phrase: "It has been a wonderful day."
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