The Cuban state television announced that tonight, at 9:00 p.m., it will broadcast live the cultural show "Voices of the People" from the Teatro Milanés in Pinar del Río as part of the official celebrations for the 73rd anniversary of the assault on the Moncada Barracks, as reported by the government-aligned newspaper Guerrillero.
The media described the proposal as "a work where music, poetry, and dance come together in an aesthetic concept inspired by the events of July 26, 1953, elevating the cultural, patriotic, and heritage values of Cuban and Pinar identity," under the direction of the creator Doris Méndez.
The regime chose Pinar del Río as the venue for the national central event for the fourth time in its history —following the editions of 1976, 2000, and 2017— in a year when the government is also using to celebrate the centenary of Fidel Castro's birth under the slogan "My Moncada is the Homeland."
To ensure that the Teatro Milanés looked presentable for the cameras, the regime ordered an emergency restoration that began on June 30 with a deadline of July 20, after nearly nine years without significant maintenance. The accumulated damage included deteriorated floors, broken seats, compromised ceilings, and the mirror bust that had been damaged since Hurricane Ian in 2022.
The irony did not go unnoticed by Cubans on social media: while the regime hastily restored a theater for the photo op on July 26, Pinar del Río and the entire Island remained engulfed in blackouts lasting between 20 and 50 consecutive hours, food shortages, lack of medications, and streets filled with garbage. Phrases like "The country is falling apart" and "Pinar del Río without water but with plenty of July 26" circulated widely as a summary of popular discontent.
The “voices of the people” promised by the state television stand in stark contrast to the real voices that resonate each night in Cuba. The Assembly of the Cuban Resistance has called for a national pot-banging event for July 24 at precisely 9:00 p.m.—the same time that tonight's show begins—and on that day, simultaneous protests were reported in Havana, Santiago de Cuba, and Cienfuegos.
This Friday night, just before the central event, residents of Lawton banged pots and extinguishers in another day of protests in Havana, while slogans like "Down with the dictatorship!" and "Homeland and Life!" could be heard in various neighborhoods of the capital.
The Cuban Observatory of Conflicts recorded a historic high of 107 street protests in June 2026, with 82 concentrated in Havana. In May, the total monthly figure reached 1,311 protests, complaints, and critical actions across the country, the highest ever documented by that organization. The electricity generation deficit reached 2,341 MW in July, with outages lasting more than 70 hours in some provinces.
The regime has responded to this wave of discontent with police operations, militarization of neighborhoods, and internet outages. The organization Cubalex documented at least 38 arrests related to the pot-banging protests in June 2026.
Thus, while state television invites “everyone to enjoy a unique experience tonight, where art becomes a bridge of unity and national pride,” millions of Cubans are facing blackouts, hunger, and repression. The question many are asking on social media is whether the regime's cameras will be loud enough to drown out the sound of the pots and pans.
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