Cuban actor and comedian Rigoberto Ferrera, in his series of denunciations titled "The Whip of Community Affairs," once again sparked interest on social media this Saturday with a new video where he showcases, with his usual sarcasm, columns of smoke rising from the burning trash in "La Pera" park in the Plaza de la Revolución municipality at six in the evening.
The clip lasts just 15 seconds, but it conveys more than any official report: "Well, right now [...] here burning the trash," Ferrera describes as the camera captures the smoke and flames that also threaten the plastic waste collection bins.
The text of the post is priceless: "At 6 PM, this was happening in La Pera park also known as 'Principado de Asturias'. Say NO to pollution... of all kinds. Share it. I love you. Sincerely, The Whip of Communals." Ironic, affectionate, and devastating, as always.
The scene does not surprise anyone living in Havana. The garbage crisis has been unresolved for months: the capital generates between 24,000 and 30,000 cubic meters daily of waste, but only has 10,000 containers when it needs between 20,000 and 30,000, and in February, only 44 out of the 106 garbage collection trucks were operational due to a lack of diesel.
In the face of the collapse, the most "revolutionary" solution has been to set everything on fire. Residents accused Comunales of burning waste at their own facilities in Regla and Diez de Octubre. Days later, another fire was reported at the Metropolitan Park, just 50 meters from a hospital, in a neighborhood filled with elderly people and children. And the landfill "El Bote," located at 100 and Boyeros, frequently burns, covering entire neighborhoods with toxic smoke for weeks.
The comments on the video are a gauge of Cuban black humor. "That's a revolutionary program; after two days of meetings at the palace of 'conversions,' that agreement was reached unanimously," one person quips. Another recalls that "Bruno [Rodríguez Parrilla] says that garbage in Cuba is different." A third adds, "They say they're going to remove the 'minister' of Communal Affairs. After all, he's no longer needed."
But not everything is laughter. A commentator summarizes the grim dilemma: "We don't know what's worse—leaving the waste and allowing rodents and insects to thrive, leading to epidemics, or burning it and breathing in toxins. Caught between a rock and a hard place. Waiting for 'divine solutions'." Another neighbor states it plainly: "You open the windows, and you can't breathe fresh air because it's filled with smoke and the stench of burning."
The accumulated waste also acts as a breeding ground for Aedes mosquitoes, which transmit dengue and chikungunya. The regime acknowledged an epidemic in 2025 and then stopped publishing data. It launched a "clean-up campaign" in December of that year, with President Miguel Díaz-Canel picking up trash for the cameras. Pure propaganda, while the problem, like the garbage, continues to grow.
It's not the first time Ferrera has pointed his camera at this disaster. On April 25, he published another ironic video in front of a pile of waste on Perfecto Lacoste: "They are collecting signatures here to have the garbage picked up. For a better city." Meanwhile, the crisis also overwhelms Matanzas and other provinces.
A commentator warned Ferrera, half-jokingly and half-concerned: "Buddy, get yourself a bodyguard, because Comunales is going to take you out." Another, with the resignation that 67 years of dictatorship breeds, wrote: "It's good to film it, so that if capitalism ever arrives, future generations can see one of the achievements of the revolution."
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