The Cuban content creator Robert Evangelista published a video on Instagram in which he publicly rejected the proposals from several businesses to promote food combos and food deliveries to Cuba, arguing that his audience—primarily consisting of Cubans living on the island—does not have the financial means to purchase those products.
Evangelista explained that over the past three weeks, more than four companies reached out to him with that proposal, and his response was a resounding no in all cases.
"I do not promote food deliveries or meal combos for Cuba. Do you know why? Because the Cuban who lives here in Cuba, my audience, who has helped me grow on Instagram, who has helped me grow on Facebook, who has helped me grow on TikTok, is starving and has to be a magician to put a piece of rotten mortadella on the table for their children," the creator stated.
Evangelista revealed that he was offered $700 for promotion, an amount he rejected without hesitation. "My conscience and my dignity are not worth seven hundred dollars," he said firmly.
The creator was straightforward in pointing out that it would be hypocritical to ask his audience to buy products that he knows they cannot afford. "I don't have the courage to tell someone: buy yourself a food combo, when I know that the people who follow me can't afford it," he explained.
He also issued a veiled critique of other content creators who do accept that type of advertising. "There are more creators. Either you are on that side, which are all hypocrites," he noted before ending the video with a direct message to interested businesses: "Don't write to me anymore, because I don't do promotions."
The rejection from Evangelista reflects a reality confirmed by the data. According to the survey "There is Hunger in Cuba 2025" by the Food Monitor Program and Cuido60, published this month, 33.9% of Cuban households reported that at least one person went to bed hungry in 2025, compared to 25% recorded in 2024.
The gap between the prices of these combos and the real purchasing power of Cubans is enormous. The average monthly salary in Cuba in 2025 was 6,930 Cuban pesos, equivalent to just about 13 dollars at the unofficial exchange rate, while food combos offered from abroad range between 64 and 170 dollars.
The prices of basic food items on the island further exacerbate the situation. In Havana, a pound of pork loin costs between 900 and 980 Cuban pesos and an egg is around 100 pesos, figures that far exceed what most families can allocate for daily sustenance.
Evangelista is known for his humor and social satire videos about the crisis in Cuba, with a presence on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. In March, he participated alongside beauty queen Leah Reyes in a humanitarian aid campaign for over 40 vulnerable families on the island.
The World Food Programme warned in February of this year that Cuba is facing increasing difficulties regarding food security, exacerbated by fuel shortages and the suspension of supplies from Venezuela, a crisis that 80% of Cubans believe is worse than the Special Period of the 1990s.
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