A Cuban resident on the island, known on TikTok as @erikitapinkk, showed the transformation of her home in a video posted on April 29, where she recounts how she managed to renovate her house in two years despite the enormous difficulties in obtaining building materials in Cuba.
"I live in Cuba, and two years ago, this house was not what it is now. There was a lot of effort, a lot of hard work, and sacrifices, especially in the country where we are, where it is very difficult to obtain all kinds of materials," the young woman stated in the 39-second clip.
Among the sacrifices he mentions, he highlights having given up family vacations that year to allocate resources to the project: "Our home is more important than anything else."
The author primarily attributes the credit for the result to her husband: "This was all thanks to my husband; I clearly had most of the ideas, just like he did, but he was the one with the capital. Without him, it wouldn't have been possible."
The fact that the protagonist lives in Cuba —and not abroad— makes the achievement particularly remarkable, as it implies that the capital came from internal sources in an environment where materials are scarce and prohibitively expensive in the informal market.
This story adds to a sustained viral trend on TikTok during 2025 and 2026, where Cubans document the renovation of their homes as an act of resilience. Massiel Trimiño showcased the progress of her remodeling in Cuba in March of this year, describing the painting phase as "the beautiful stage" and noting that the house "already feels totally different."
In July 2025, a Cuban residing in the United States remodeled her house in Caibarién, Villa Clara, funding improvements such as decorative flooring, a renovated kitchen, and a battery system with resources obtained from abroad.
The background of these stories is an unprecedented housing crisis in Cuba: the Ministry of Construction admitted in January 2025 to a deficit of 805,583 homes, a figure expected to reach 929,000 units by 2026.
Of the 4.1 million homes on the island, only 65% are in good condition, while cement production operated at 10% of its installed capacity in 2024 due to energy deficits and industrial obsolescence.
The state construction plan for 2025 barely reached 22% compliance: 2,382 units out of the 10,795 planned, according to data from the Ministry of Construction itself published in April 2026.
In the informal market, a bag of cement can cost between 3,000 and 5,000 Cuban pesos, compared to an average salary of about 5,000 CUP per month, making any private renovation an extraordinary effort for most Cuban families.
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