A Cuban mother spent nearly an hour trying to light a charcoal stove to prepare lunch for her family during one of the long blackouts affecting the island's population.
Adriela Feito Hernández recorded the process with humor and also a bit of frustration, while her young son helped her. Her husband, who usually takes care of lighting the charcoal, was not home that day.
The Cuban documented everything in a video posted on Facebook that has amassed over 42,000 views and reflects the daily reality of millions of people in the country.
"This is the first time I'm trying to turn on this device. My husband usually takes care of this, but he wasn't here today. The child and I weren't going to skip lunch," she explained in the video.
During the attempt, he used up the little oil he had at home, melted several plastic bags, and it still didn’t work. "It seems even the charcoal is tired of this," he said with a laugh. After nearly an hour of struggle, he finally managed to light it and took the opportunity to make coffee and boil milk.
"Believe me, I didn't even feel like having lunch. I spent about an hour trying to light that," he acknowledged. He closed the video with a phrase that sums up the collective sentiment: "This is not just a video. This is the reality we all Cubans live every day."
In the comments, dozens of women shared their own experiences and advice. One suggested using a soda can with alcohol in the center of the fire pit to make it easier to ignite.
Another person recounted their own ordeal: "I almost had a panic attack trying to light the charcoal. I tried everything: jaba, gasoline, oil, foam, and a neighbor told me to add small pieces of wood, and bingo, it lit up, it took two hours."
A third warned of a real danger: "Be careful with the smoke when you burn plastic bags, it's very toxic, it goes straight to the lungs."
The widespread sentiment was summed up by another user: "Not even hell can compare to what we are experiencing in Cuba."
The context surrounding this scene is devastating, with power outages lasting between 18 and 22 hours daily in many areas of the country, representing the most severe energy crisis Cuba has faced in decades.
The Cuban regime admitted in December 2025 that blackouts would continue throughout 2026, without offering concrete solutions.
Given this reality, millions of families have had to reinvent themselves and learn to use charcoal, firewood, solar cookers, and makeshift stoves. According to the Food Monitor Program, more than nine million Cubans are cooking under precarious conditions and 25% admitted to going to bed hungry.
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