The Cuban comedian Rigoberto Ferrera, known as "The Whip of Communal Services," posted a reel on Facebook in which, with his unmistakable ironic style, he claims to be desperately searching for something that no algorithm in the world can provide him: the recipe for cooking the harsh everyday reality of Cuba.
"Arturo, I’m looking for it on Google, but I can’t find it, I can’t find it, Arturo. Does anyone have the recipe to cook this harsh reality? Damn it...," says Ferrera in the video, with that blend of exasperation and humor that has made him one of the leading figures in social comedy on the island.
The joke is apparently simple, but it hits with devastating precision: if there is one thing in abundance in Cuba, it’s harsh reality. What is precisely lacking is how to cook it. And not just metaphorically: there is also a shortage of food and fuel to process it.
Ferrera has described himself as someone who turns "the everyday into a spectacle" and "discomfort into laughter," using humor as a collective escape valve. His nickname "The Whip of the Communal" was born from his videos denouncing the accumulation of garbage in Havana, but his satire encompasses all the structural ills of the island: blackouts, bureaucracy, the chasm between official discourse and real life, and now, hunger.
The culinary metaphor could not be more timely. In 2026, Cuba is going through one of the worst food crises in its recent history: 33.9% of households reported that at least one person went to bed hungry in the past 30 days, compared to the 24.6% recorded in 2024, according to the survey "In Cuba There Is Hunger 2025."
The 94.9% of households lost access to purchasing food over the year, and 97.6% reported structural supply issues. The Minister of Food Industry himself acknowledged this bluntly: "This year we have not been able to provide oil, chicken, or yogurt" due to the regulated basket.
Five provinces are at critical levels of food security according to the Food Monitor Program: Havana, Matanzas, Cienfuegos, Guantánamo, and Santiago de Cuba. In Granma, 78.9% of the population faces hunger or food insecurity, significantly above the national average.
In light of such a situation, Cubans have been "inventing" in the kitchen for decades with whatever is available. Some are already replacing rice with purees of root vegetables —cassava, sweet potato, plantain, and pumpkin— whose prices exceed 400 pesos per pound in the informal market, compared to state salaries of about 7,000 pesos monthly. Others are using oil as fuel for tractors due to the diesel shortage, while the FAO warned that the lack of this fuel prevents the harvesting of already planted crops. Cuba imports between 70% and 80% of the food it consumes, at a cost nearing 2 billion dollars annually, while domestic production continues to collapse.
80.4% of households experienced a reduction in their cooking capacity due to blackouts, 48.3% reported food loss due to lack of refrigeration, and 81.3% had to boil or chlorinate water before consumption.
Ferrera has a long track record of using his humor to point out the contradictions of the regime. In July 2025, he reacted with irony to the statements made by the Minister of Labor, Marta Elena Feitó Cabrera, who denied the existence of beggars in Cuba. He has also shown burning containers in Havana and made ironic remarks about supposed official campaigns to collect signatures for trash collection, always signing with his stamp: "Sincerely, The Whip of Communales."
No search engine in the world has the recipe that Ferrera longs for, because no algorithm can process decades of misgovernment, chronic shortages, and a multidimensional crisis that the State itself cannot—or does not want to—clearly name. The "harsh reality" of Cuba remains uncooked, and the only ingredient that is ever present is the bitter humor of those who have to chew on it day by day.
Filed under: