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A simple gesture from a 76-year-old tricycle driver from Havana has once again touched thousands of Cubans on social media. Víctor Rodríguez, who had already gone viral in April for offering free rides to pregnant women and mothers with children in Guanabacoa, Havana, is at the center of a new story that is widely circulating on Facebook.
Everything happened during his usual route between the traffic light in Guanabacoa, passing over the hill of Cotorra. Víctor already had two passengers and a third person with two children who was traveling for free, according to his usual policy, when a boy around 15 years old, sweaty and dressed in dirty, worn clothes, signaled for him to stop and pick him up.
"For the Mikito," the young man asked, and went upstairs.
Upon arriving at the destination, the passengers began to disembark and pay. The young man held a 100-peso note and a 50-peso note in his hand. He handed over the 100, but Víctor only took the 50. The young man looked at him seriously and thanked him.
What made the moment go viral was what happened next. While Víctor was waiting to pick up another passenger's mother, the boy returned and approached him.
"You don't know how much your gesture helped me. I live here," he said, pointing to a nearby house.
And he added, "Whenever you want, just call me to clean the tricycle."
"I swallowed hard because I was moved, I ran my hand over his head and thanked him," Víctor recounted in his Facebook post, which he closed with three words: "No further comments."
This is the second time in 2026 that Víctor Rodríguez stars in a story that shakes up Cuban social media. In April, he had already attracted attention by placing a sign on his tricycle that read: "Pregnant woman or with a small child travels for free," a gesture that deeply resonated amid the severe transportation crisis the island is experiencing.
Víctor himself then explained his motivation: "At 76 years old, I got onto that wheel. I bought my tricycle and on some afternoons more than others, I go out to take care of short trips in Guanabacoa. More than for economic reasons, it's because I'm not cut out to do nothing."
Their gestures are part of a pattern of spontaneous solidarity that contrasts with the collapse of public transport in Cuba, where private drivers can charge up to 500 pesos for short trips in Havana, and vulnerable groups such as pregnant women and children face significant difficulties in getting around.
Other tricycle drivers have made similar gestures in 2026: Yander Jiménez Tamayo, in Banes, Holguín, offered free rides to the hospital for patients and healthcare personnel, and tricycle owners in Guantánamo did the same during the energy emergency.
The online Cuban community has responded to these stories with deep emotion, seeing in them examples of solidarity that the regime, unable to maintain basic services after decades of failed management, has never been able to provide.
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