Three brief scenes, described with the precision of someone who experienced them firsthand, were enough for hundreds of Cubans to recognize their own history. The visual artist and writer LaSai Dela Vida published a text this Saturday on Facebook that quickly went viral due to its stark depiction of Cuban childhood amid the crisis.
The first scene: a boy who approached to ask for water—not money—and shared it among his companions, saying "a little bit for each one."
The second: a girl about seven years old who tried to trade a razor for a package of Pelly —the popular Cuban ice cream— and, upon receiving it, looked at her brother and said, "It's for both of us."
The third: a mother with her six or seven-year-old son who was hiding at the counter while she promised him, "I'll buy it for you later," knowing that she couldn't.
"Mothers know how to hide their feelings, but other mothers can tell when you're putting on a facade," wrote the author before delving into the core of her reflection.
The worst part of every child's story is carried by their parents; there are parents who are struggling, really struggling, not knowing how to put a plate of food on the table, to buy their children a toy, to keep their clothes clean, to prevent mosquitoes from biting them at night, to make sure they don't realize that vacations are not filled with nights of blackouts," wrote LaSai Dela Vida.
The text concluded with an encouraging message: "I don't know if many parents will read me, but if you are reading this, I want to tell you that you are doing well [...] in this country, it is not your fault that you lack the basics to make even more of your constant effort."
The post sparked a wave of reactions. Dozens of parents identified with the scenes, and many confessed to have cried while reading them. One follower described the survival routine: "It's about daily calculations of what you'll cook [...] trying to vary the unchangeable in the kitchen [...] with the frustration of being able to do nothing but endure for the family."
Another mother summarized the paradox of vacations in Cuba: "It's crazy what we Cuban mothers are going through, but we are truly heroines for helping our children understand that during vacation, there are no outings or trips, and barely any water or electricity in our homes."
A commentator expanded the picture beyond just the children: "It's so sad to see those children begging in the street. And the defenseless elderly as well. [An] elderly woman who lives alone in Old Havana offered us 'two pounds of beans' in exchange for a rechargeable lamp, which scared her a lot when the power went out."
It is not the first time that LaSai Dela Vida has shaken up social media with a post of this kind. Last June, she questioned the normalization of misery after experiencing 20 hours without electricity in Havana, and in July she criticized the paradox of celebrating soccer goals while the country endured power outages lasting up to 87 hours.
The figures support what the scenes illustrate. The Food Monitor Program reported in April 2026 that 96.91% of the Cuban population lacks adequate access to food, and that 33.9% of households had at least one member who went to bed hungry in the past 30 days. According to the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights, 89% of the population lives in extreme poverty, and seven out of ten Cubans skip at least one meal a day.
"Being a father today, in this country, which I no longer know if it’s a country or a hell, is as difficult or more than the 12 labors of Hercules," summed up a follower in the comments, with a phrase that encapsulated what thousands felt upon reading the text.
Related videos:
Filed under: