The Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz inaugurated this Friday the 44th International Tourism Fair FITCuba 2026, urging international tourists to visit the Island, stating that "every time a tourist travels to Cuba, they are helping the Cuban people." The response was swift: content creator José Martínez posted a satirical reel that "supports" Marrero's call with an upside-down tourist guide: welcome to the "misery everywhere."
The 57-second video, tagged with hashtags like #CubaFailedState and #CrisisInCuba, serves as a nightmarish advertisement. "Your opportunity comes / to see this summer / how a country without freedom / turns into a swamp," Martinez begins in an enthusiastic announcer's tone. "You’ll find the city / filled with garbage. / Reserve now, be the first / to experience blackouts and scams. The thieves / are waiting for you, motivated."
Sarcasm is not without foundation: it has documented support. Havana is accumulating mountains of trash in its streets because only 44 out of 106 garbage trucks have fuel to operate. A foreign agency described the "smells of decay" in the Cuban capital in February of this year, and a foreign journalist who returned to the island after three years of absence summed it up in three words: "trash, darkness, and ruins".
The blackouts that Martinez mentions with such "advertising" fervor last more than 20 hours a day, with an electricity deficit that reached 1,905 MW during peak night hours on March 12. President Miguel Díaz-Canel himself admitted in February that by 2026, not "a single barrel of foreign crude" would have arrived in Cuba, compounded by the collapse of Venezuelan supplies following Maduro's fall.
The reel continues with another gem from the tourism catalog: "You'll be able to see the most expensive gasoline in the world! You’ll see that in just a few seconds, you’ll love your country even more!" This is not poetic exaggeration: a liter of gasoline on the Cuban black market can reach up to 5,000 pesos, a figure that starkly contrasts with the monthly salary on the Island, which barely reaches 7,000 pesos. "Become an apprentice and leave your savings to this power!" Martínez concludes, in what could be the most honest slogan that Cuban tourism has had in decades.
The creator, who is also a psychologist and Cuban entrepreneur, does not overlook the scams that abound in the nation, such as the one recently reported by the Consulate of Spain in Havana, involving fake emails simulating consular appointments. The fraud, starting with those perpetrated by the State itself, is apparently so widespread that it warrants mention in the ironic travel guide.
The closing of the reel features the best "highlights": "Don't miss a president / who gives orders all the time! / A people who survives / from the invention and is headed for ruin!". And as a welcome gift: "You're going to receive our collection for free! / Manual for a nation! / What not to do!". It's hard to find a better summary of 67 years of dictatorship in under a minute.
Meanwhile, Marrero inaugurated FITCuba 2026 in a virtual format — the fair had to abandon the in-person model — and optimistically promised that "Cuba will be ready and prepared to offer a service of high quality." He also announced the elimination of the health fee at airports starting May first as a lure to attract visitors, and assured that "nothing can block our sun or our beaches."
The numbers, however, tell a different story about the collapse of Cuban tourism: Cuba received only 298,057 visitors in the first quarter of 2026, a drop of 48% compared to the same period in 2025. In March, only 35,561 tourists arrived, a year-on-year decline of 79%. Russian tourism — once a strategic ally — shrank to 249 visitors that month; Canadian tourism fell from nearly 99,000 to just 511.
The satire by José Martínez falls within a growing trend among Cubans both on and off the island who use irony to denounce the reality that the official discourse glosses over. In less than a minute, the creator achieved what no statistical report can: turning the very language of tourism into a mirror that reflects, without filters, the real country that Marrero invites the world to see.
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