A Cuban woman posted a video on Facebook that starkly depicts daily life amid the energy crisis: she started cooking red beans with electricity, but the blackout hit right in the middle of the cooking process, turning what began as a joyful day into a test of endurance.
«Which Cuban hasn’t teamed up with a neighbor to prepare a meal? I’ve done it a bunch of times,» says Adriela Feito Hernandez at the beginning of the video. The occasion seemed special: the neighbor arrived with a can of chorizo, «one of those that you don’t see every day,» and everything started with an electric spark, «like normal people.»
But normality didn't last long. "Happiness here is never complete. The power went out," the author recounts with a mix of resignation and bitter humor. With the beans only half-cooked, there was no choice but to continue: "Here, you can't cancel, you have to keep going, there's no other option."
The solution was to turn to a coal stove, which she ironically calls EcoFlow.
Meanwhile, the husband went out in the rain to find a gas canister. "He was telling me that it was quite an adventure. He even got caught in a heavy downpour," Adriela recounts.
Finally, the man arrived with a sack of coal, and his wife was able to finish cooking. "Work, work, and work, but the beans turned out well."
What this video describes is not an isolated anecdote.
Cuba has been on the brink of an electrical collapse for weeks, with deficits that reached 1,975 MW during the nighttime peak last Thursday.
In addition to the electrical crisis, there is a chronic shortage of liquefied gas, which affects hundreds of thousands of families.
In January, the tanker Emilia returned to Cuba empty because the government was unable to pay. In May, online platforms began selling 10 kg cylinders for 29 dollars, turning a basic necessity into a dollarized luxury item.
The most brutal paradox: while Cubans are improvising charcoal stoves to cook due to a lack of gas and electricity, a company from Camagüey exported over 150 tons of that same charcoal to Europe in the first quarter of 2026, with a goal of 4,000 tons for the entire year.
Adriela's video closes with a question that encapsulates the mood of millions: "On the path we're taking, what hope remains?"
Filed under: