A Cuban residing abroad, known on TikTok as Maylen (@maylen_), posted a video criticizing the summer kickoff parties in Varadero and described the behavior of those who attended the event held from May 29 to 31 at the Resonance Musique Hotel as shameful.
Maylen, who has just turned 32, recorded the video last Monday in a direct and unfiltered tone. “Gentlemen, what a shame about the people who are at the beginning of summer in Cuba,” she stated, clarifying from the outset that her criticism was not directed at the political situation or the blackouts, but rather at the behavior of those attending.
The young woman recalled that in her youth, when she was between 19 and 21 years old, those celebrations were frequented by wealthy people. "I remember that the kids who went there were the most posh, the upper class... people from Siboney, those who lived in Reparto Kohly... people with money," she noted.
The contrast with what she sees today on social media outrages her. "What has surfaced now, what comes up in the videos, how embarrassing, such low-quality people," she said, and went further to state that "the Cuban who has stayed there is the most vulgar... does not represent me."
The event “Start of Summer 2K26”, organized by Fiesta Havana and Rey Puma, consisted of 72 continuous hours of urban music featuring artists such as Yomil, Charly & Johayron, Ja Rulay, Wildey, Zurdo MC, and El Micha. According to reports shared on social media, a VIP table reportedly cost 600 dollars, a shocking amount in a country where blackouts exceeded 20 hours a day and basic necessities like food, water, and transportation were scarce.
The controversy intensified when Sandro Castro, the grandson of Fidel Castro, promoted on Instagram a parallel luxury agenda that included lunch at Casa Dupont, jet skiing at the marina, and a beach party, which was perceived as a display of privilege by the elite linked to the regime.
The host hotel for the event operates under Gaviota Tours, a company of the GAESA group controlled by the Cuban Armed Forces, which means that the proceeds from the event directly benefited the state's military apparatus.
The comedic duo Pichy Boys described the Varadero parties as "one of the last attempts by the dictatorship to demonstrate normalcy and functionality in a failed state." Actor Luis Alberto García also ironically questioned the celebration on Wednesday, highlighting the gap between the extravagance of the event and the lack of basic services for the population.
Maylen ended her video with a phrase that sums up her vision for the future of the island: "When Cuba is free, there will need to be a cleansing, but a thorough cleansing of education."
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