The Cuban comedian Mario Sardiñas, known for his character Chequera from the show "Vivir del cuento," posted a 57-second reel on Facebook that became one of the popular videos of the week: in it, Chequera turns to the virtual assistant Siri to solve the great mystery of the moment in Cuba: what is the oil made of to cost what it costs?
The sketch begins with Chequera and a friend examining the label on a bottle. The reading of the nutritional values—23 grams of saturated fat, 28 grams of polyunsaturated fat, and 27 grams of monounsaturated fat—fails to convince them. "Come on, don't be stubborn, buddy," the friend insists. "Pipo... this has to have something inside; it's way too expensive," Chequera responds before suggesting the definitive solution: asking Siri.
The virtual assistant does not disappoint. When asked, "Siri, what is the oil being sold in Cuba made of these days?", the response comes without hesitation: "That oil is composed of 367 grams of 18-karat gold, 350 grams of platinum, and 200 grams of silver."
“Did you see that? Here you go!” celebrates Chequera, before concluding with the most applauded warning of the video: “No, no, and just be glad I didn’t ask about the pork, because the price of pork today, if I were to ask what’s inside, it’d be like, look, diamond, ruby, emerald, precious stones...”
The video exceeded 200,000 views and garnered over 9,600 reactions. The comments ranged from laughter to outrage: one internet user suggested asking Siri "about the electric current"; another sarcastically remarked that the oil also contains "rare earths"; and a user bluntly asked, "where can I buy that oil to make myself a millionaire."
The Humor of Chequera does not arise in a vacuum. The uncontrolled rise in the price of oil in Cuba has specific origins: Resolution 150/2026 of the Ministry of Finance and Prices, published on June 20 in the Official Gazette, removed the national caps on several imported foods, including cooking oils —except for olive oil— thereby repealing the previous limit of 990 pesos per liter.
The price of oil, which was around 1,500 pesos per liter in April, reached 2,500 in Havana in July and continued to soar in August: prices of around 4,000 pesos per liter were documented, with sales reaching up to 5,000 and 6,000, and reports of bottles being offered for 7,000 pesos.
The pork, another product that Chequera threatens to consult Siri about, is not far behind: it was priced between 1,400 and 1,900 pesos per pound in the informal market of Havana this month. The Minister of Food Industry, Alberto López Díaz, admitted in June that the regulated family basket had not distributed oil, chicken, or yogurt at any point during the year.
The Chequera video adds to a chain of popular reactions to the crisis. Poet Sindy Manuel Torres recently published a viral poem about frying an egg as if it were "an ostentation" and "a crime." A Cuban mother recounted on social media that she cooked an egg in boiling water because she had no oil: "I had never done this in my life... how much longer, for God's sake. […] The sad reality." And Tiendas Caribe sparked outrage by offering oil combos for about 12 dollars, payable exclusively with Tarjeta Clásica.
While the regime lifted the price controls on oil and wages remained unchanged, a Cuban declared a hunger strike over oil prices reaching up to 7,000 pesos per liter — a figure that Siri, rightly, could only explain in carats.
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