A Cuban demonstrated this week on TikTok how he washes clothes in Cuba: collecting rainwater, filtering it with an old towel placed over the wash basin, and using it to brush his teeth and wash his face, because the tap water comes with a "horrible color" and "bad smell."
The video, published on Saturday by creator @angeldenis_vlogs, summarizes in just over a minute the daily odyssey of millions of Cubans facing a water crisis with no end in sight.
"Doing the laundry has practically become an almost impossible mission," says the creator at the beginning of the video.
The method he describes is as simple as it is revealing: he places an old towel over the washer and, with his grandmother's help, strains all the stored rainwater so that "the dirt and bugs get trapped in it."
It also highlights an unexpected advantage: rainwater "saves a lot of detergent, as it creates a lot of foam."
The same scarce water that she uses to wash clothes is also used for personal hygiene. "With that little bit of water, I will have to brush my teeth and wash my face," she describes, referring to the situation as "making magic."
At the end of the video, the creator turns to humor to keep from sinking: "I've officially gone back to the time of the Indigenous people... I would say to the Taínos, who were more advanced." He concludes with a phrase that sums up the mood of many Cubans: "We can't let the little joy we have left slip away from us too."
The video also includes a generational testimony that strikes hard. The creator's grandmother, born in 1939, reminds him that before the Revolution “stores were overflowing with food and with just a few cents you could buy whatever you wanted,” an implicit contrast to today's Cuba.
What the video shows is not an isolated case. In April 2026, the water crisis affected nearly 2 million Cubans across the country, and in May, around a million relied on tank trucks for their water supply.
In Santiago de Cuba, 50 supply systems were inoperative in March 2026 and fecal contamination in the water was detected, affecting 180,000 people. In Ciego de Ávila, there were areas with 36 consecutive days without water service.
The crisis is worsening because the pumping system relies on electricity, and power outages—which in some areas exceed 20 hours a day—also cut off water supply, creating a vicious cycle that the regime has been unable to break.
In Pinar del Río, residents have been without water for weeks and are washing in the river, while a water truck can cost up to 4,000 pesos.
Cuban state television recognized in September 2025 that more than 3.1 million Cubans were suffering from a total or partial lack of water, a number that has only continued to rise since then.
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