An electrical failure sparked a fire this Sunday in the home of Cuban singer Jorge Junior, director of the group Los 4, who alerted about the incident in real time through his social media.
“In this moment, my house is on fire. Electrical issues; whoever can, please calm down Julita, as she is out of control. Fire, my people,” the musician wrote on his Facebook account, accompanying the message with photos of the damage.
The images show walls completely blackened by soot, melted and charred electrical cables, a destroyed distribution panel, and remnants of a fire extinguisher scattered across the rooftop of the house.
Everything points to a short circuit as the cause of the incident, as the most significant damage is concentrated around the electrical panel and wiring.
The post generated a flood of messages expressing concern. User Juan Carlos Pérez Nieves directly linked the incident to the phenomenon of "quita y pon" in the electrical current: "In these times when there are so many blackouts, and when the power comes back, we need to recharge so much, the thickness of the wires must be reinforced; otherwise, these things happen."
The comment describes a daily reality in Cuba: after hours of power outages, households simultaneously connect refrigerators, fans, cooking equipment, chargers, and other devices, which increases the load on old or deteriorated installations, leading to short circuits.
The fire at Jorge Junior's house is not an isolated incident. A house in Santiago de Cuba caught fire on June 15 just minutes after electricity was restored, and a short circuit caused another fire in Las Tunas on June 1. In May, a fire in Havana was attributed to voltage surges following power outages.
The backdrop is the worst electrical crisis Cuba has faced in decades. On July 24, the impact on the National Electroenergy System almost set another historical record by reaching 2,315 MW, with outages lasting up to 20 hours per day in some areas. The country has experienced at least four total blackouts in 2026, the most recent recorded on July 10.
Jorge Junior had already reported earlier on the consequences of this crisis. Last May, he publicly complained about not having electricity in his home, and in March, he questioned the inequalities in the sale of fuel in dollars: "Is the money of Cubans living on the island worth anything or not?" he asked at the time, after being unable to buy gasoline with his Clásica card despite having foreign currency deposited.
The incident occurs precisely this Sunday, the anniversary of the assault on the Moncada Barracks, an official celebration date for the regime, while Cuba faces yet another breakdown at the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant that further worsens the energy situation on the Island.
Related videos:
Filed under: