A Cuban mother documented in a TikTok video the actual prices of the Pa'Cuba Festival at the National Aquarium of Havana, triggering a wave of criticism over the gap between the official narrative of "affordable prices for all families" and the reality of what is charged inside the venue.
The festival, organized by Conex —a company of the Palco Business Group— in its fifth edition, took place from June 5 to July 19, 2026, and it was the first time it moved from its usual venue at Pabexpo to the National Aquarium, with the stated aim of attracting external funding for the gradual recovery of the facility.
The entrance fee to the venue was set at 150 pesos for adults and 50 pesos for children under 12 years old. However, once inside, the prices for food and attractions told a different story.
The user @sarasleybi.alfons registered charges such as pizza for 1,350 pesos, two servings of fried rice for 2,000 pesos, two pieces of fish with rice and salad for 3,500 pesos, and a ride in a children's cart that could reach 15,000 pesos. The water park charged 3,000 pesos for 30 minutes, 10,000 pesos for two hours, or 30 dollars for the entire day.
"What I don't understand is when they say that the festival is for all families because of its reasonable prices, when a pizza costs one thousand three hundred fifty pesos, two servings of fried rice two thousand, and two fish fillets with rice and salad three thousand five hundred pesos," stated the creator of the video.
His irony was direct: "I'm still trying to figure out whether those modest people live in Cuba or land directly from Miami."
The contrast with the average Cuban salary is striking. According to data from ONEI collected by Infobae, the average monthly income in Cuba was around 7,074 pesos in April 2026, which is equivalent to about 13 dollars at the informal exchange rate. A basic family visit with tickets, food, and some attractions could easily exceed 10,000 pesos, which means more than an entire monthly salary.
Regarding the water park, the video’s author was emphatic: "They say there are no water parks in Cuba. Yes, there are. The only thing is, you first have to sell a kidney to afford the three thousand pesos they ask for thirty minutes, ten thousand for two hours, or better yet, thirty dollars of the salary they don’t pay you."
The festival featured around 100 private ventures, areas for video games, diving and swimming workshops, and screenings of matches from the 2026 World Cup. However, the dolphinarium, was not operational because its restoration required an investment greater than what the event could provide.
The National Aquarium has a long history of deterioration. Since 2025, walls with mold, leaks, and rusted railings have been documented, along with dirty ponds and a shortage of marine species. The organization Animal Welfare Cuba described the conditions as "deplorable," reporting sick animals and turtles with broken shells.
Historically, regular admission to the Aquarium cost 15 pesos for adults and 9 pesos for children. When it reopened in October 2021 after a period of closure, prices increased to 20 pesos for adults and 15 for children. The gap between those rates and the current ones illustrates the extent of the price increase.
The author of the video concluded her testimony with a clarification: "I'm not saying you shouldn't go. If you can afford it, your child is going to have an amazing time. That was my experience. Now tell me: am I the one exaggerating, or are those prices completely out of touch with reality?"
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