A video posted on Facebook by user Arnold Caraballo shows musicians performing live in a nearly empty El Floridita, one of the most iconic bars in Havana, which triggered a wave of comments comparing the scene to the musicians on the Titanic playing while the ship sinks.
The heartbreaking image stands in stark contrast to the splendor of a venue that, at its peak, welcomed 250,000 visitors annually, and where, before the pandemic, 80% of American tourists in Havana walked through its doors.
"The musicians of the Titanic, while the ship is sinking, they are playing," wrote Odelmis Robles Lopez in the comments thread, which became the most repeated quote from the post.
Other users were not far behind. "There are more musicians than customers," noted Ned López, while Yanetsis Sarduy recalled that "it used to be very busy. Now not even the flies."
"Empty and it is one of the most emblematic places in Havana," Ana Ley added.
Juan Rodriguez-Loeches recalled the glory days. "Before the pandemic, you could barely get to the Hemingway statue to take a picture. Sixty daiquiris were made in a minute. It was completely packed," he reminisced.
Olga Alvarez-Ramírez added a bitter note to the picture. "And to think they are singing a song by Celia Cruz, but she was never allowed to return to Cuba."
Meanwhile, on Obispo Street in Old Havana, the musicians at El Floridita continue to play for an empty space. "And it seems that Hemingway is about to get up and leave," summarized Mariano Vidal.
The video arrives at the worst moment for Cuban tourism in more than two decades. Cuba welcomed only 298,057 international visitors in the first quarter of this year, a 48% decline compared to the same period in 2025.
In March, only 35,561 tourists arrived, compared to approximately 170,000 in March 2025, a contraction of 79%.
Canadian tourism, historically the island's main market, dropped from nearly 99,000 visitors to just 511 that month. Russian visitors fell to 249.
Hotel occupancy fell to 18.9%-21.5%, with more than eight out of ten rooms empty, leaving approximately 300,000 people associated with the sector unemployed and without income.
The viral video coincides with the celebration of the 44th edition of the International Tourism Fair FITCuba 2026, inaugurated on Wednesday by Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz in a virtual format, reflecting the country’s energy limitations.
It is noteworthy that the government chief promised "a very tough next winter" and asserted that "whenever a tourist travels to Cuba, they are helping the Cuban people.
His words were met with widespread sarcasm. Voices on social media called on Marrero to come to the land of misery that he himself describes optimistically.
On the same day as the fair's inauguration, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced new sanctions against the Business Administration Group S.A. (Gaesa), the military conglomerate that controls much of Cuba's hotel infrastructure, giving foreign companies until June 5 to close their operations.
The Canadian mining company Sherritt International was the first major company to announce its withdrawal, and Spanish hotels are facing increasing financial and reputational pressure.
Marrero, however, ignored the sanctions and made his tourism promise. "We are optimistic; we believe that these sanctions from the United States will not be lasting and that we can gradually return to normalcy."
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