A video lasting just 20 seconds published on Facebook has sparked a wave of sorrow, irony, and nostalgia among Cubans all over the world: it shows the Malecón in Havana practically empty, with no people, no vehicles, no life. The clip garnered 150,000 views in just a few days.
The recording reveals a desolate coastal avenue flanked by lampposts. In the frame, the Edificio Girón - two 17-story blocks at the corner of Malecón and F, Vedado - stands out with a visibly deteriorated appearance.
The comments from internet users on the post bitterly summarize what the images display. "Our city, our desolate Malecón, a perpetual silence where only the faint roar of the waves embracing that wall, which seems to surrender to time, can be heard," wrote one of them.
Another user was more direct in pointing out those responsible: "I don't see anything beautiful about it... it would be beautiful if it were full of Cuban men and women fishing, exercising, active traffic, young people playing guitars, laughter and lively shouts... but this is a reaction from the Castro Díaz-Canel dictatorship and all the mercenaries."
Irony also found its place. "Is there a curfew?" asked one internet user. "There are thousands of cars cruising around," pointed out another. Several agreed to simply call it a "ghost town."
Nostalgia completed the picture: "It used to be like that, everyone would go for a stroll along the Malecón, children were taken to ride bicycles and scooters while their parents enjoyed the refreshing sea breeze; that’s where we spent our energy, and when we got home, we would go to sleep."
"Very beautiful but very sad overall; years ago, there were even people on the Malecón in the sun," emphasized an internet user. A phrase that, in just a few words, captures what 67 years of dictatorship have done to the heart of Havana.
What the video captures is neither an accident nor a coincidence: it is the result of a multiple crisis that has emptied Havana. Cuba went without imported crude oil between December 2025 and April 2026, which plunged urban transportation and left thousands of Havanans without a way to get around. Last Sunday, a group of citizens who waited more than seven hours at a bus stop without any bus appearing decided to walk through the bay tunnel.
This is compounded by blackouts lasting over 30 minutes and an electricity deficit exceeding 2,000 MW during peak hours.
Tourism, for its part, plummeted by 55.8% in the first four months of the year compared to the same period in 2025, with a hotel occupancy rate of 21.5%. "All the hotels are empty," another internet user confirmed succinctly in the post.
The massive exodus completes the picture: more than a million Cubans have left the Island since 2021, and Havana lost over 100,000 inhabitants between 2023 and 2024.
The Edificio Girón, visible in the background of the video, adds its own story of neglect: it suffered a fire due to a short circuit in June 2024, leaving 132 families without an elevator for months, with the State providing no real solutions.
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