Residents of Santiago de Cuba took to the streets this Monday in a gathering that was captured on video and shared on social media by the social communicator Yosmany Mayeta Labrada.
Although Mayeta initially identified the place as the San Pedrito neighborhood, dozens of commenters familiar with the city immediately corrected the location: the images correspond to the intersection of San Pedro and Martí streets, right in the historical center of Santiago de Cuba, at the edge of the historic district, and not to the peripheral neighborhood of San Pedrito.
The distinction is important. San Pedrito is a neighborhood far from the center, while San Pedro Street runs through the institutional and heritage heart of the city, which lends greater symbolic weight to the concentration.
The correction came from multiple voices. "The video you uploaded is of Martí and San Pedro at the pyramid, not of San Pedrito," wrote user Linda Mendez.
"It is San Pedro and Martí son," added Manuel Alejandro Grille. "That is Martí and San Pedro, the people from my neighborhood," confirmed Carlos Enrique Fuentes Delgado.
Eddysandra Pozo was more specific: "It's San Pedro, between San Ricardo and Santa Isabel," and she added, "they really came out, it was at the corner of my house."
A user who claimed to have passed by San Pedrito at that time indicated that the neighborhood was calm, which reinforces that the protest took place elsewhere.
The trigger points directly to the electrical crisis. Leagne Reyes Copello reported in the comments: "since early morning, circuit 8 has been without power, and it's 3:23 PM and still nothing."
Another user reported having to leave the city center due to a lack of internet connection.
In the video, which shows a large crowd in a street lined with dilapidated colonial buildings and tangled electrical wires, several commentators expressed slogans such as "Freedom for Cuba," "Down with Canel," and "Homeland and Life, Down with communism."
The response from many was one of relief and support. "Finally, my people from Santiago have awakened," wrote Franklin Naranjo.
"And this time it’s not about rushing behind the conga," pointed out Diva Torres.
The protest this Monday is part of a sustained wave of demonstrations in Santiago de Cuba.
Last Wednesday, there were reports of protests with pots and pans in the Reparto Portuondo after more than 12 hours without electricity, and on March 15, protests were reported in the Micro 9 district with arrests and a deployment of security forces.
Nationwide, last Saturday the National Electric System recorded a maximum impact of 2,041 MW, leaving 51% of the country without electricity simultaneously.
The Cuban Observatory of Conflicts recorded 1,133 protests in Cuba during April 2026, a 29.5% increase compared to the same month in 2025, a trend that shows no signs of reversing.
As a commentator succinctly summarized during the debate over the exact name of the place: "It doesn't matter if it's San Pedro, San Pedrito, or San Perico... a tired town protesting... it's not easy."
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