An 80-year-old Cuban woman, who lives alone and receives a minimal pension, became this week the face of the crisis faced by the elderly in Cuba after appearing in two videos posted on Facebook by the Catholic priest Leandro NaunHung.
The parish priest visited the elderly woman to deliver a food donation sent by a follower. She received the gift with great pleasure and even showed how her refrigerator was defrosted from so many power outages.
When opening the appliance in front of the camera, the woman summarized her situation with a single phrase: «The cold is at Blanco and Trocadero. Not a bit, not a bit, not a bit».
“Being at Blanco and Trocadero” is a phrase from the popular Cuban vernacular that means to be without resources, without ideas, empty, without anything. It is inspired by a real intersection, as Blanco and Trocadero are the names of two perpendicular streets in the Centro Habana neighborhood.
NaunHung handed the elderly woman a package of chicken, eggs, toilet paper, milk, oil, and other products in a backpack sent by a supporter. These resources will help her survive for a while, and they joked about the idea that she should carry them in the backpack that the regime has asked people to prepare in case of a military attack from the United States.
The elderly woman recounted that just a few days ago she had asked at the local store when they would distribute the donation of oil meant for the community, which is supposedly allocated for the elderly, but no one supplied her with the donation, nor could they provide her with any information.
"According to the social workers, I am not vulnerable. And I am 80 years old, I live alone and earn a minimum wage, but I am not vulnerable," said the woman with visible indignation.
NaunHung responded sarcastically, "The donations are not for you. They are in your name, but they are not for you."
In a second video published on Facebook, the same elderly woman is seen warming coffee with a candle she collected from the church, as the blackouts prevent her from using the electric stove. She keeps the brewed coffee in the refrigerator to make it last two days.
"This is what makes an elderly person vulnerable during a blackout," noted NaunHung as he filmed her and they shared reheated coffee, with the light from the remaining part of a candle that once illuminated the masses.
The case illustrates a multiple and simultaneous crisis. In May 2026, Cuba recorded unprecedented electrical deficits exceeding 2,000 MW, with blackouts lasting more than 20 hours daily in some areas, particularly impacting those who live alone and lack alternative means to cook or preserve food.
This is coupled with the collapse of the Cuban social assistance system, with documented reports that aid intended for the elderly is not reaching its recipients.
In November 2025, a mother from Santiago denounced that food modules for children and the elderly ended up in the hands of officials.
Pensions are also insufficient. Before September 2025, the minimum pension was 1,528 Cuban pesos; it then increased to 3,056 pesos, but two adults in Havana would need more than 41,000 pesos monthly for a barely adequate diet. According to the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights, 79% of those over 70 in Cuba do not manage to have three meals a day.
NaunHung had already documented similar cases. In February 2026, an 83-year-old Cuban woman told the camera: "I worked for 57 years in this country. What do I have now? Nothing."
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