A young Cuban identified as Fdez Mey posted a video on TikTok on Wednesday, filmed directly from the island, in which she explains why she decided to return to Cuba, and the answer is as simple as it is powerful: her family.
"They are the reason I returned to Cuba, because without them I do not exist," the young woman states at the beginning of the video posted on her TikTok account, where she introduces her mother, her grandfather giving milk to a baby, her grandmother frying catfish steak over charcoal, and a cousin who lives right next to her house.
The clip, lasting one minute and 38 seconds, serves as an introduction to her daily life on the island. "Today I start by sharing my everyday experiences," Fdez Mey announces as she walks through her home and neighborhood from the fifth floor where she lives.
The young woman does not hide the difficulties. At one point in the video, she acknowledges being without electricity all day: "I live on the fifth floor and I'm without power, which is the worst, but I'm okay." Still, she ends with a phrase that sums up her attitude: "It's hard without power, but I'm moving forward because I'm Cuban."
The testimony comes just two days after Cuba experienced its third total blackout of the year, the eighth in the last two years, with a generation deficit of more than 2,200 MW against a demand of 3,100 MW. In Havana, the average duration of power outages in 2026 is around 15 hours daily, and in areas like Matanzas, it has reached up to 87 consecutive hours.
The case of Fdez Mey is part of a phenomenon that has gained visibility on social media during 2025 and 2026: the voluntary return of emigrated Cubans primarily motivated by family ties. In March 2026, the Cuban @yenyyenyyelreal returned from the United States because she was unable to reunite her two children on American soil. In May, Malena Mendoza returned from Costa Rica because her five-year-old daughter missed her surroundings and family.
These returns are statistically minor compared to the massive exodus currently happening on the island, but they generate considerable debate among the Cuban community abroad, which is divided between those who admire the decision and those who warn about the real conditions awaiting those who return.
The energy crisis mentioned by Fdez Mey in his video has structural roots: aging thermoelectric plants, fuel shortages, and reduced imports. On top of that, there is a collapsing economy, with an average salary equivalent to about 13 dollars a month. The regime of Miguel Díaz-Canel has attributed the blackouts to the oil embargo imposed by the United States since January 2026, although the issues within the Cuban electrical system are older and stem from decades of underinvestment.
Despite everything, for Fdez Mey the equation is clear: family weighs more than electricity.
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