The Cuban comedian Ulises Toirac turned to his usual irony this Sunday to depict the situation in Cuba on the "Day of National Rebellion": a blackout that accompanied the eve and the day of July 26, the date on which the regime celebrates the 73rd anniversary of the assault on the Moncada Barracks.
In a post on his Facebook profile, Toirac wrote: "What a great power outage since the night before in honor of the 26th. On top of that, there's still a serious issue with the transformer, which we hope won't ruin the fireworks for the celebration, as that would be yet another disaster added to the existing chaos. Anyway... happier than a widow without an inheritance. Indeed, it is always the 26th."
The final phrase — "it's always the 26th" — subverts the commemorative meaning of the most symbolic date on the Cuban political calendar, transforming it into a metaphor for the country's ongoing collapse.
While the official ceremony for the anniversary was taking place in Pinar del Río, presided over by the leader Miguel Díaz-Canel, much of the country remained in darkness.
The irony of Toirac lies precisely in that contradiction: the regime commemorates its foundational achievement while the system it governs is crumbling.
The message arrives in a context of extreme energy severity. Cuba approaches July 26 amidst widespread blackouts: on Saturday, the electric demand was 3,200 MW compared to a mere availability of 1,070 MW, with 106 distributed generation plants out of service due to a lack of fuel.
In the early hours of this Sunday, the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant —the largest in the country— disconnected again from the National Electric System at 1:07 a.m. due to a "leak in the economizer," marking at least 17 unplanned outages so far in 2026.
July has been a devastating month for Cuba's electrical system. The SEN experienced at least three total collapses —on the 6th, 10th, and 14th of July— leaving millions of people without electricity during each episode.
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