A young Cuban known as Bloger Emanuel (@emanuelgonzalezmora) documented on TikTok the ordeal of buying a gift for his mother with just 10 dollars sent by a follower, in a video that sums up the economic crisis plaguing the island.
The video, posted last Wednesday with the description "the poorest son or the richest?", begins with Emanuel heading out onto the street with a clear mission: "not to let his birthday go unnoticed."
His first stop was a dollar store, where reality hit him head-on.
"The reality is that it can't be solved with dollars: empty shelves, crazy prices, and nothing worth it for her," she recounted in the video.
Before leaving, he posed a question that encapsulates the paradox of the Cuban system: “Can you believe that in Cuba there are stores where you can't buy anything with your salary?”
Emanuel left the store, in his own words, “feeling like the poorest child in the world,” but he did not give up.
He exchanged 10 dollars in the informal market —at a rate of 540 pesos per dollar, close to the 545 pesos that the informal market indicated this week— and received 5,400 Cuban pesos.
He put that figure into perspective himself: "They gave me 5,400 pesos, the salary of a teacher."
He was not exaggerating: a primary school teacher in Cuba earns around 3,000 pesos per month, equivalent to less than six dollars on the informal exchange rate.
With that money, Emanuel walked under the sun to an informal perfumery where he was able to put together the gift: a cologne for 2,500 pesos, a cream for 2,000 pesos, and two soaps for 475 pesos each, for a total of 5,450 pesos in gifts.
To return home, he took a bike taxi that cost him an additional 500 pesos from a separate fund.
The closing of the video is the most emotional: Emanuel's mother appears grateful and states that "the greatest blessing I have is having my two children here, having my parents in front of me."
Emanuel concluded with a thought that resonated with his followers: "Many wait to be millionaires to make their family happy. My mom doesn't want a shelf gift; she wants to know that her son didn't give up until he found the best for her."
The video is not an isolated case. In January, another young Cuban showcased on TikTok that with double the amount —20 dollars— he could only buy rice, sugar, oil, ham, sausages, and soap.
The average state salary in Cuba was 6,930 pesos in 2025, equivalent to between 12 and 15 dollars at the informal exchange rate, while the monthly basic basket is estimated to be between 25,000 and 50,000 pesos, far exceeding what any state worker can earn.
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