A common Cuban became a symbol of solidarity after a social experiment filmed on the street showed him handing over an egg without hesitation to a stranger who asked him for food.
The video, posted on Facebook by the verified content creator Lizardo Bello González, lasts just 26 seconds and has garnered thousands of reactions and dozens of heartfelt comments from Cubans both inside and outside the island.
In the clip, Bello González approaches a man on the street and asks him, "Just a quick question. If I asked you for an egg to eat, what would you say?" The stranger, without hesitating, hands him the egg. When the creator thanks him, the man replies, "This is a family issue. Don't worry."
Bello González explained in the publication that it was "a social experiment to see the heart of people on the street," and he dedicated the video to "the true everyday Cubans, from the neighborhood, neighbors, and friends who give what they have without hesitation."
What makes the gesture particularly significant is the context in which it occurs: in Cuba, an egg can cost between 90 and 120 Cuban pesos in the informal market, and a carton of 30 units exceeds 3,000 pesos, an amount that surpasses the monthly pension of a retiree.
A commentator summed it up bluntly: "For me to buy a carton of eggs, I have to work for three months."
Another user noted, "An egg costs $100 that rattles," referring to the actual price on the street.
The national egg production has collapsed due to the deterioration of the state poultry sector: on the Island of Youth, it fell by 98%, from 42,000 to barely 1,000 eggs daily, and in Ciego de Ávila, production dropped from 120 million in 2016 to 16 million in 2024.
This collapse is situated within an unprecedented food crisis. According to the survey "There is Hunger in Cuba 2025" by the Food Monitor Program, published on May 5, 33.9% of Cuban households reported experiencing hunger in 2025, and 96.91% of the population lacked adequate access to food in April 2026.
In that context, the reaction to the video was massive. "We have loads of difficulties, differences, and flaws, but it's very hard for a Cuban to deny you something to eat knowing that you're hungry," wrote one user. Another, from inside the island, added: "These are the true Cubans."
The gesture of the man in the video joins a wave of citizen solidarity documented on social media in 2026: Cuban youths in Santiago de Cuba went out to distribute food to those in need, and this very Tuesday it was reported that a private entrepreneur in Sancti Spíritus donated 20 free meals to the project Brothers of the Street.
"We Cubans take off our things and give them away because we know very well what it means to have nothing," summarized another commentator, in a phrase that encapsulates what thousands witnessed in those 26 seconds.
Filed under: