Nelson Álvarez, known on social media as El Porfiao, achieves what seems impossible from within Cuba: arranging the free transport of severely ill children to hospitals abroad, without families having to pay a single cent.
In an interview with Tania Costa, in CiberCuba, the activist explained how his network works. "With the help of good friends we have abroad, who make contact with hospitals, such as Ángela de Armas, my eternal angel, who is with me in this hour from scratch. We have managed in less than a year and a half to help four children."
The most emblematic case is that of Jorgito, who overcame cancer in Italy after suffering from a testicular tumor with leukemia. His mother, Arlety Llerena, had applied for humanitarian visas to the United States multiple times without success. She did this before contacting El Porfiao.
Thanks to the efforts of Nelson Álvarez, the boy traveled to Italy in less than three months. An Italian foundation covered all expenses, and the doctors discovered that his bone marrow was completely clean, making the transplant that was considered inevitable in Cuba unnecessary. Jorgito turned nine years old on April 29, 2026, and he did so free of cancer.
Nelson Álvarez recounts that the mothers initially do not believe him when he offers assistance. But when he bids them farewell at the airport, their reaction changes completely. "Forgive me for not believing in you. But what seemed like a miracle, this comes from God. I was denied this time and again in the United States. And then you appear out of nowhere, and look, you accomplished it in less than three months."
The activist acknowledges that each loss brings him to the brink. "When there is a loss, you can have a thousand victories, but when there is a loss, that loss weighs more than those thousand victories. And then I say, that's it, I can't take it anymore." However, he always returns. "Then another mother comes along with a different problem, and you say: well, here I am."
His vocation was born from personal pain. "I lost a 13-year-old boy who escaped from school and drowned in a river. Later, I signed the departure papers for my 10-year-old boy when the parole situation arose. In the end, he couldn't leave. But that was something that hurt me deeply, it caused me a lot of anguish, and then I learned how to channel that anguish through this work."
This humanitarian effort takes on special significance in light of the health crisis faced by Cuban children with serious illnesses. Cuba does not perform pediatric bone marrow transplants nor does it appear in international donor registries, and as of March 24, 2026, there were 96,000 people waiting for surgical operations on the island, of which 11,193 were minors.
Cases like that of Rebeca Quintana Vázquez, a seven-year-old girl who died from leukemia while awaiting a humanitarian visa to the United States, or that of a young Cuban who died after a long battle against cancer despite the efforts of El Porfiao, illustrate the urgency of this work.
"Nobody can imagine what it's like to know that you helped save a life, especially when it doesn't cost people a dime," said Nelson Álvarez. "Every time you manage to save a child's life, that's priceless. There is no greater reward."
Currently, El Porfiao is making an urgent call to support Claudia Melisa, a 15-year-old adolescent with chronic kidney failure who needs a transplant in Brazil. They are raising funds to cover the costs of her visa in order to help her leave Cuba.
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