Related videos:
The Cuban troubadour Ray Fernández, a known communist activist and defender of the regime, posted a complaint on his Facebook profile this Friday regarding the blackouts plaguing Cuba, using a phrase imbued with his usual irony: "Fidel is Fidel! Raúl is Raúl! And this blackout has no name!", implying that the electrical crisis has reached an almost unnameable magnitude — or at least one that he does not wish to specify.
The post generated a flood of responses from internet users who were eager to name the blackout without much hesitation: "If it has a name, it's called Revolution," wrote one. Another was more creative: "It's called Roboilusion." A third, more direct, emphatically stated: "COMMUNISM is the name."
The irony of the post is particularly striking when recalling that Ray Fernández is not exactly a critic of the regime that manages the collapsed electrical system. In January 2020, the troubadour publicly declared himself a "proud communist militant", in clear terms and without any apparent shame.
That same year, in December, Miguel Díaz-Canel quoted on his official Twitter account a part of the song "Cuba por la cuerda floja," by Ray himself, which was interpreted as a sign of symbolic affinity between the troubadour and the power elite.
In August 2020, when the singer Descemer Bueno raised his voice from abroad, Ray Fernández responded with disdain: "how easy it is to show off in the Yuma, buddy." In January 2021, he composed a décima celebrating Minister of Culture Alpidio Alonso following the incident in which the minister assaulted an independent journalist. And in May of that same year, he launched strong words against the San Isidro Movement.
Now, with Cuba experiencing its worst recorded electrical crisis, the troubadour realizes that the blackout "has no name." It’s a curious exercise in selective amnesia for someone who has been publicly supporting the government responsible for that crumbling infrastructure for years.
The reality behind their complaint is devastating. On May 13, Cuba recorded an electrical deficit of 2,153 MW during peak hours, and three days later, 51% of the country was without power simultaneously. In April, Havana experienced outages of more than 15 hours daily, while the eastern provinces reported blackouts of 24 consecutive hours or more.
A frustrated internet user offered the troubadour an invitation: "Do you want to see what a real blackout looks like? Come to the east... I assure you it won’t take long for you to name it... oh, and give it a last name." Power outages in the interior provinces of Cuba have historically been much more frequent than in the capital.
The National Electro-Energy System has collapsed seven times in a year and a half, and in May 2026, 70% of the territory was affected at the same time. The causes are well-known: obsolete infrastructure, lack of fuel, and decades of underinvestment —exactly the type of responsibilities that Fernández prefers not to mention.
Another commentator accurately summarized the anguish of those living outside the Island: "For reasons like this, I don't go to Cuba so I won't get jailed: I shout three times, and they lock me in my house or put me on a plane." Fidel was Fidel. Raúl was Raúl. And this blackout, although the troubadour refuses to acknowledge it, has a name, a surname, and more than six decades of history.
Filed under: