A splendid sun, little birds singing, and Ulises Toirac with his phone in hand to document the miracle. The Cuban comedian published a 16-second reel on Facebook in which he describes a sunny Saturday with the excitement of someone who has just seen a UFO, concluding with the question that says it all: "Can you imagine this in a normal country?".
The phrase, brief and devastating, needs no explanation for any Cuban.
Toirac opens the video with an enthusiasm that blends genuine joy and precise sarcasm: "Brother, what a beautiful Saturday. Wow! What a blazing sun. The birds are singing. Lovely, my friend, lovely"... Up to that point, everything is wonderful. Then, in a direct cut, the question hits like a blow.
The joke works because the backdrop is terrifying: Cuba has been experiencing power outages of between 20 and 24 hours daily, with an electrical deficit that exceeded 2,147 MW in May, leaving nearly 70% of the island without electricity at the same time. In Havana, cuts of up to 23 hours and 11 minutes were reported in a single day; in some provinces, interruptions reached 50 consecutive hours.
In that context, for a sunny Saturday filled with birdsong to be a cause for astonishment—and a rhetorical question—precisely encapsulates what it means to live in Cuba in 2026, amidst shortages of all kinds and a despair that dulls even the brightest day.
But Toirac did not arrive at this phrase by accident. It is part of a method that he has refined with the patience of an electrical engineer — which, in fact, is what he studied before turning to humor. In April, he used a similar strategy by satirically announcing the foundation of the fictitious "Bembocratic Orthodontist Party," pointing out that creating a political party is "something commonplace in any country", but not in Cuba.
In March, he said, with the same irony wrapped in seriousness: "I don't want an AKM, I want the effective country that will allow me to defend it.", contrasting the rifle that the regime gave to singer-songwriter Silvio Rodríguez with the well-being that never arrives. And in May, in front of those who were hoping for some magical solution to the crisis, he was blunt: "This isn't Hollywood, and there’s no magical solution to stop this mess."
Toirac has also attributed the electrical collapse to “30 years of poor investment policies”, not allowing the regime to comfortably hide behind the U.S. embargo. This stance, coming from someone with his solid artistic career and growing influence on social media, carries its own significant weight.
The question of the sunny Saturday is, in that context, the lighter —and perhaps more devastating— version of that same ongoing critique. Because it does not accuse, does not denounce, does not demand: it simply describes a beautiful day and asks if anyone can imagine what it would be like to enjoy it under normal conditions. The answer, of course, is provided by every Cuban who has been without electricity, water, fuel, and hope for months.
In December 2025, Toirac reminded fellow comedian Virulo that "humor cannot cover" the social reality of Cuba. This Saturday, with 16 seconds and a blazing sun, he demonstrated that there is no need to cover it: it is enough to describe it and then pose the right question.
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