Children from Baracoa, Guantánamo, became the stars of a viral video after turning an abandoned public fountain by the promenade into an improvised swimming pool with their own hands. They later celebrated to the rhythm of "El Tubazo," an old hit by Chacal & Yakarta.
The video published on Instagram by Yan Andres Rdz has garnered over 22,000 likes, along with a brief yet eloquent caption: "We did it."
The scene shows children splashing in a circular fountain, decorated with a blue and white dolphin statue with a large hole, surrounded by a mosaic-style stone floor and with the sea in the background.
The story began on July 23, when Yan Andrés started documenting the process on his profile. The children arrived with brooms to sweep away the dirt that had accumulated over the years and to remove debris from the unused facility.
The author himself clarified in the comments: "It's not a pool, it's a fountain that is no longer functional, but we are going to clean it to use it as a pool."
On the third day, the rain filled the water fountain. The group emptied it again to continue cleaning before the final celebration. The previous videos in the series also went viral: one surpassed 18,000 likes and another reached 11,000.
What appears to be a tale of childhood joy is, in fact, a portrait of state abandonment.
The Cuban regime has gone decades without maintaining public recreational spaces in even minimal conditions for use, and citizens—including children—have had to take the initiative on their own.
Other minors in Pinar del Río used a flooded pothole as a pool in April, an image that also circulated widely.
The state of public parks and swimming pools in Cuba in 2026 is bleak.
The Mambisito Park in Holguín has missing roofs and stolen benches. The Japanese Park in Camagüey features stagnant water in its pool and broken attractions.
The old Coney Island in Havana has been compared to Chernobyl for its level of deterioration.
The private alternative exists, but it is inaccessible for most Cuban families. An aquapark in Ciego de Ávila charges 500 pesos for just 30 minutes of children's swimming.
Taking a family to Jalisko Park in Vedado would cost around 4,000 pesos, which is more than half of the average monthly salary of 6,830 pesos.
In Baracoa, the area of the promenade where the fountain is located had already recorded instances of institutional negligence: in April 2023, there was a report of liquid waste being dumped in that same public space.
This month, in addition, a wave of sargassum invaded the beaches of the city with an active health alert.
While the government provides no answers, the children of Baracoa celebrate with "El tubazo" in the background what the State has been unable to provide them: a place to cool off in the summer.
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