A Cuban content creator residing in Italy has launched a challenge that is testing the memory of thousands of Cubans in the diaspora: to identify five instrumental pieces from Cuban television arranged by level of difficulty.
Yannys Herrera, known on Instagram as @yannys_real, published the reel with the challenge, which included the theme presentation of the programs Para la Vida, Mediodía en TV, Día y Noche, and Escriba y Lea.
Among the pieces included in the challenge is the unmistakable curtain of the Educational Channel of ICRT, accompanied by its characteristic phrase: "The educational channel resumes its broadcasts, we thank you for your company." For many Cubans, that melody is inseparable from memories of teleclasses and afternoons spent in front of the television.
"These are the five instrumentals that every Cuban should recognize. Level 5 is going to be the hardest. The first one was a layup, right?" Herrera says in the video, using the Cuban colloquial term to refer to something easy to guess.
"In the comments, I don’t want tears," Herrera jokes, anticipating the wave of nostalgia that the video would unleash.
The comment section quickly filled up with Cubans competing to showcase how much they remember from their childhood on the island, a common phenomenon when this type of content circulates among the community abroad.
"With the song Para la Vida, I closed my eyes and imagined myself on the wooden sofa at my grandmother's house watching television," stated a follower.
Another person mentioned that "The second one reminds me of having lunch with a plate of rice and peas at 35 degrees while watching midday TV."
"I am the only one who feels a tremendous nostalgia for all these shows? I used to watch Escriba y Lea with my grandmother, and how I miss her," shared a third forum user.
Cuban state television, managed by the ICRT, was for decades the sole audiovisual reference for the island's population. Its musical themes and children's program songs have become ingrained in the emotional memory of several generations.
Among the most fondly remembered by the diaspora are the melodies of La Calabacita —present on Cuban screens since 1973—, Toqui, El Pequeño Vagabundo and the adventures of Dos Hermanos.
The challenge posed by Herrera falls within a well-established trend among Cubans in the diaspora: content that appeals to shared television references generates a significantly higher emotional engagement than other publications.
In March of this year, a video of Norma Reina, known as "Marcolina," dancing with her daughter also sparked a wave of similar reactions among Cubans outside the island.
Herrera, in addition to being a digital creator, is the founder of the clothing brand Rytt Dustin and has a track record of viral videos about Cuban identity and life in Europe.
The hashtag #cubanosporelmundo with which he tagged the reel directly targets that audience scattered around the world who, upon hearing four notes from the television of their childhood, cannot help but react.
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