A Cuban emigrant identified on TikTok as Bety Yorja (@bettyyorja) touched thousands of followers by sharing the moment when light batteries were installed in her mother's house in Cuba so she wouldn't suffer from power outages anymore.
In the 21-second clip, published on May 31, a man is seen installing the batteries while the Cuban expresses her relief: "Thank you, God, now mom won’t be without power."
The emigrant also made it clear the personal sacrifice behind the gesture: “I won't have many luxuries because she comes before everything else.”
The video is accompanied by a song that speaks of overcoming challenges and having faith, with verses that summarize his story: "It's easy to criticize because no one knows everything that happens / No one can imagine how I have suffered, how I have cried / I feel so happy with the little I've achieved so far / I started at 15 and no one has supported me."
Bety Yorja's gesture reflects a trend that has become common among the Cuban diaspora: faced with the government's inability to provide electricity, emigrants finance private energy solutions—batteries, inverters, solar panels—from abroad for their families on the island.
Private solar kits range from $1,500 to $6,000, and by 2025, 60% of entrepreneurs surveyed in Cuba reported having invested in solar panels or their own power plants.
The context driving these decisions is devastating. Cuba is experiencing its worst electrical crisis in decades: on May 14, a record deficit of 2,174 MW was recorded, with nearly 70% of the population lacking electricity simultaneously.
Just three days after Bety Yorja posted her video, the Electric Union reported a availability of only 1,020 MW against a demand of 2,570 MW, with power outages extending throughout the previous 24 hours.
The Cuban electrical system has experienced seven total collapses in 18 months, including a nationwide blackout lasting 29 hours and 29 minutes on March 16, 2026.
The causes are systemic: aging thermoelectric infrastructure, chronic fuel shortages—with four consecutive months without receiving supplies for generation between January and April 2026—and recurring breakdowns in key plants.
Cuba had over 1,300 MW of installed solar power by May 2026, but the lack of large-scale storage batteries prevents the utilization of that capacity, making individually financed solutions by the diaspora the only real guarantee of having electricity for many families.
The video by Bety Yorja, which garnered over 37,400 views in just a few days, embodies the role that Cuban emigration has taken on out of necessity: that of providing basic services that the state has been unable to guarantee for decades.
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