A Cuban woman who went to copy series onto a USB drive ended up witnessing a scene that sparked laughter on social media: a woman waiting in line asked for "one or two survival reality shows," a request that, amid the crisis facing the island, led to all sorts of jokes.
The anecdote was shared on Facebook by the user known as Litle Lo La, who turned the everyday episode into a satire about the challenges faced by Cubans.
According to his account, the request left everyone bewildered for a few seconds.
"There was an uncomfortable silence in the room. The boy looked at the lady, the lady looked at the boy, the boy looked at me, I looked at the ceiling, the ceiling looked at the other lady behind me in line, the other lady looked at the picture of Fidel hanging on the wall, and the picture of Fidel looked back at the lady who wanted to copy the survival reality shows," he narrated.
The seller tried to offer her other options, but "without the survival part." For the author of the post, the irony was unavoidable.
"Why does this woman want to see that if the life of a Cuban is itself a survival show?" she wrote.
From there, Litle Lo La humorously recounted some of the experiences that, in his opinion, turn everyday life in Cuba into a constant trial: dengue, chikungunya, zika, shortages, endless queues, and the myriad of food inventions that have emerged over decades of crisis.
But the real twist in the story came when the salesman finally showed the woman the program he believed she was looking for.
"Oh no, but there the people are wearing clothes... what I want is the Naked Survival one," she replied.
He was referring to Naked and Afraid, known in Latin America as Supervivencia al Desnudo, the Discovery Channel program in which two participants try to survive for 21 days in extreme environments without clothing, food, or water.
Humor to Survive the Crisis
The scene took place in one of the businesses that focus on copying audiovisual content onto USB drives and other devices, a practice linked to the Weekly Package, which has served as an alternative in Cuba for years to access movies, series, and programs.
The author herself began her story by ironically commenting on the restrictions surrounding this activity: "Is that already legal, and can I say it openly, or do I have to say I went to buy pastries?"
In 2024, new government regulations restricted the commercial display of audiovisual content through digital media, although officials later clarified that copying for personal use was not prohibited.
The post generated numerous comments that followed the same humorous tone, but it also reflected the weariness of those who identified the "survival reality" with their own lives.
"Literally, we live in a reality show with the difference that we are not paid; on the contrary, we have to pay to survive," wrote a user.
Another joked, "Soon you’ll be able to refresh your sight without having to go buy pastries, because at this rate, we’ll all be walking around without clothes."
Amid power outages, food shortages, and an economic crisis that increasingly impacts households, humor continues to serve for many Cubans as a way to express a reality that sometimes seems to surpass any fiction.
As another commentator summarized: "The life of a Cuban is an endless story of unceasing madness."
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