The Cuban content creator Lauren Lotti (@laurenlotti5) moved thousands of people when she posted a video on TikTok showing how she and her family went out to distribute lunches on the streets of Cuba to those in vulnerable situations, an initiative funded by a supporter from her social media community.
Lauren's grandmother and aunt started cooking rice, chicken, and plantains early in the morning—a combination that today represents a privilege for most Cubans. After that, her uncle took care of carrying the food to distribute to people on the street. Additionally, they provided special assistance to a woman they regularly see on the street.
"Although it looks like just a plate of rice, chicken, and plantain. In today's Cuba, this is a meal that very few can have on their table, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to find something to eat, even if it’s the most basic," Lauren stated in the video.
The young woman, originally from Matanzas, also alerted about the skyrocketing price of chicken: "The truth is that the food situation here is very difficult, the pack of chicken is already over a hundred thousand pesos."
This is not the first time that Lauren Lotti has channeled the solidarity of her digital community toward those in need in Cuba. Last April, she used donations from her followers to buy basic food items with funds sent from abroad. In July, she successfully raised enough funds to purchase a larger house for her grandparents in Matanzas.
His gesture is part of a growing trend: other creators like Juanka, who distributed 100 meals in Havana in April, or two young individuals who delivered food in Santiago de Cuba in May, have carried out similar actions that have gone viral and generated a massive response from the Cuban diaspora.
"Thanks to my beautiful community for making this possible. Thank you for allowing us to bring a little relief to these people," Lauren said as she closed the video, which garnered over 366,000 views and 50,400 reactions on TikTok.
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