The Cuban content creator Yeison López (@hermandadtmph) shared the testimonies of a child and a young man who earn a living as palm cutters in the fields of Cuba.
The reel published on Instagram moved thousands of people with the harshness of the reality it portrays and, at the same time, with the honesty and dignity of its protagonists.
López, who recently returned to Cuba after several years living abroad, went out at five in the morning and offered the first person he encountered on the street twice his daily salary in exchange for spending the day working alongside her.
This is how he met Raidel, 25, and Dainer, 12, two Cubans who earn a living climbing royal palm trees over twenty meters high using only homemade ropes to cut the bunches of palm nuts, the fruit that is primarily used to feed pigs.
The job is extremely dangerous. "The most dangerous part is when a rope breaks or the palm falls," warns Raidel. A "horse" of palm fronds —ten clusters— sells for about 1,500 Cuban pesos, just two dollars, which according to López makes palm pruning "one of the best jobs in Cuba" compared to conventional jobs where Cubans earn between eight and ten dollars a month.
The most striking moment of the video comes when Raidel, with a serenity that is surprising in someone so young, looks into the camera and advises: "I want you guys to work, not to steal, so that you have food to eat, because things are really bad."
Add, without drama: "I've been here for 10 years, and I'll keep trimming until I'm an old man who can't do it anymore."
That phrase broke the hearts of hundreds of followers. "It broke my heart when Raidel said he has been doing this for 10 years and plans to keep doing it until he's old," wrote a user in the comments.
Another remarked, "The child so small and walking alone early, before dawn, ready to work. Raidel has shown himself to be hardworking and wise; he advises as what he is, an honorable man. These are the Cubans who deserve a free country with all the possibilities."
The video has accumulated over 450,000 views, more than 45,000 reactions, and over 700 comments in less than a day, featuring messages that range from excitement to outrage over a reality that many recognize as their own.
The context surrounding these images is devastating: the official minimum wage in Cuba is 3,210 pesos, equivalent to about 4.65 dollars, while economists estimate that a person needs around 96,000 pesos per month to cover their basic needs.
In this context, child labor is advancing unchecked on the island. The Cuban Conflict Observatory recorded 71 complaints in 2025, and the government itself acknowledged that nearly 200,000 minors are in vulnerable situations.
The video is part of a series that López has been working on since his return to Cuba, documenting trades in rural areas with a close perspective and without sensationalism.
At the end of the reel, it is Raidel himself who asks viewers to share the video: "I share this video so that Yeison can help more people. You should share it too, and you can be happy."
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