The character Chequera, from the Cuban humorous series «Vivir del Cuento», published a reel on Facebook in which he quotes three traditional proverbs that, in his opinion, have lost all relevance in Cuba of 2026: «camarón que se duerme, se lo lleva la corriente», «agua que no has de beber, déjala correr» and «a mal tiempo, buena cara».
"If you were to ask me right now: 'Cheque, what are the sayings that are no longer used in Cuba?' Easy," the character in the video begins, before wryly listing phrases that, for millions of Cubans, are no joke but rather a depiction of their daily lives.
The sketch, performed by actor Mario Sardiñas, has garnered over 64,000 views.
The ending of the video is the most striking. When a female interlocutor reminds Chequera of the third saying, he replies, "But sweetheart, what a nice face you're going to have given these times, my dear. Find someone on the street who has a nice face. Well, unless they get zapped or doused with water."
Humor rests on a precise double meaning: the first two proverbs refer to electricity and water, two essential resources that are dramatically scarce in the country. The third suggests that one should maintain a positive attitude in the face of problems, a recommendation that is at best naive, given that the "bad times" for Cubans seem eternal.
In recent months, Chequera has shared videos focused on the energy crisis and daily shortages. In April, he "traveled to the Moon" to escape from the 16-hour blackouts, although the mission was "aborted" because "the fuel for the ship was stolen."
In May, diplomas were awarded to the most affected electrical blocks. In July, the block system was simplified to just two categories: “block without power” and “block with power.”
On August 22, the phenomenon of “kitipón” -four-hour blackout cycles with ten minutes of electricity- was transformed into a viral song that exceeded 20,000 views.
The reality that the comedian satirizes is what the Cuban people experience every day. This year, the National Electric System has suffered seven total collapses and the maximum generation deficit reached 2,411 MW on August 4th.
The water crisis is directly linked to the energy crisis: 87% of the water supply system depends on the electrical grid, which means that power outages paralyze the pumps and leave the population without water. According to data from May, approximately 2.7 million Cubans lack regular access to drinking water and nearly 10 million receive it intermittently.
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