A Cuban content creator posted a video on Instagram depicting the food crisis on the island. The young man's mother prepares a typical lunch —congrí, picadillo, breadfruit puree, and avocado— which costs 2,950 Cuban pesos, an amount she describes as "millions" for any family in Cuba.
The video was published on the account of the content creator Dieego Blogeer. The mother breaks down each ingredient in detail:
- 1 kilogram of rice 850 CUP
- 1 pound of beans 400 CUP
- 1 pound of picadillo or ground meat 1,200 CUP
- 1 breadfruit 200 CUP
- 1 avocado 300 CUP
"I live in Cuba, and I want you to join me in making a millionaire's lunch. And today I'm going to show you why," he says at the beginning of the clip.
At the current informal exchange rate —around 670-675 pesos per dollar—, those 2,950 pesos amount to just four or five dollars. It may seem like a small sum to someone living outside of Cuba, but it is too much money for those who rely on a salary in national currency.
The official average monthly salary in Cuba ended 2025 at just 6,930 pesos, which is equivalent to 10.3 dollars per month at the informal exchange rate. This "millionaire" lunch consumes almost half of a state worker’s income.
The gap between salaries and prices is even more pronounced when considering that a person needs about 96,000 pesos per month to meet their basic needs in Cuba.
In July, a Cuban woman from Las Tunas showcased a dish of rice with pork and cracklings as her own version of "millionaire's food" in a clip that also went viral.
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