A Cuban who identifies herself on Facebook as Litle Lo La became the voice of thousands this Friday by publishing a tragicomedy recounting her odyssey to obtain sunflower oil at a Mipyme in the Havana municipality of Marianao.
On Thursday, a friend shared some news: there was refined sunflower oil available in one-liter containers that was “a little bit cheaper.” And she, “neither shy nor lazy,” dashed out. The first obstacle was the summer sun. “By the third block, I was already a melted ice cream,” she wrote. But the heat didn’t stop her: she had to reach the place no matter what.
The second obstacle was transportation. In Cuba in 2026, with fuel practically gone, electric tricycles have become the main means of urban mobility. Litle Lo La had to chase three or four of them before she could get on one. "The oil set sail with all its family, including the cousins," she joked, describing how she traveled "hanging with one leg inside and one leg outside, hugging my Vima bag," in search of what she referred to as the current "liquid gold."
The third obstacle was the line. Upon arriving at the Mipyme, the queue was so enormous that the author didn't know "if she would have to camp there until the next day or pay some extra pesos for a neighbor to let her cut in." The turn system was completely verbal and linked: "the gentleman [...] who is behind the woman in the white blouse, who is behind the man in the cap, who is behind the lady in the blue housecoat [...] and all of them are behind a couple who went to quickly grab some money from their home, but who will return soon so as not to lose their spot."
Faced with such a labyrinth, the author recalled school punishments: "I imagine that in secondary school, when they made you repeat 100 times: I must not throw tacos at the teacher [...] they were preparing you for this."
The fourth obstacle arrived right at the end: when it was finally her turn, the employee informed her "with a calmness and naturalness of someone who is used to it" that the business did not accept transfers, only cash. In Cuba, this detail can ruin hours of waiting. But Litle Lo La had cash in her wallet thanks to her "cautious husband." "I paid, with pain. Because everything here is painful," she wrote, and went home with three small bottles of sunflower oil from the Avituaia brand, produced in Spain.
The conclusion was celebrated as an epic victory: "Congratulate me, dear little friends... this was a delivery of triplets."
The post was flooded with comments from Cubans who recognized every detail. One user pointed out that "the little amount you could save went on transportation." Another congratulated her because "you qualified for the oil Olympics." A third compared the account to "a Turkish novel with the least expected ending." And almost all agreed on the same complaint: the author never disclosed how much she paid, leaving the price as the unresolved suspense of the story.
The incident is not anecdotal. Since the Resolution 150/2026 removed the price caps on imported oils, the price of sunflower oil has skyrocketed, reaching between 4,000 and 7,000 pesos in different regions of the country in August. The Minister of Food Industry, Alberto López Díaz, admitted in June that up to that point in the year, it had not been possible to distribute oil, chicken, or yogurt in the regulated basket. According to the Food Monitor Program, more than 90% of the Cuban population lacks adequate access to food.
As a commenter summed it up: "Only Cubans know how to make the best of misfortune. Congratulations on your triplets."
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