The Cuban comedian and actor Ulises Toirac issued a strong statement rejecting the normalization of the crisis that Cuba is experiencing.
"I don't want to get used to living, to surviving, or to barely living, however you want to call it. I don't want to get used to being without electricity 20 hours a day. I don't want to get used to precariousness. I don't want to get used to traveling in a rickshaw. I don't want to get used to having to walk to save money. I don't want to get used to a third-world country," said Toirac on the podcast "Todos Hablan" by Cubamastv.
Toirac clarified that this refusal does not stem from desperation but from a conscious decision not to accept as normal what is not.
"I refuse to let existence be a sum of negativity. They bring me down, they make my life miserable, but it's another day, it's another hour, it's another second, and you have to live it," he stated."
His final call was to make the most of time: "The only thing I wish for everyone is to be aware that the next second may not exist. Don't waste it eating rags, crazy. Focus, concentrate, get ready to live."
The interview was published this Friday, but it was recorded in advance. It is hosted by the Cuban actor Jorge Martínez, who has a close friendship with the comedian.
Toirac, an increasingly critical voice regarding the Cuban crisis
This interview adds to a series of public statements by Toirac in 2026. Last week, heheld the Cuban government accountable for the electrical collapse, attributing it to decades of mismanagement and internal planning failures.
Previously, he described Cuba as a labyrinth with no possible solution and went on to say that "there is no longer any light at the end of the tunnel, it's just that there is no tunnel."
In July, he referred to another issue affecting Cuban society: mass emigration. He described it as “the worst demographic disaster in the entire history of Cuba”, pointing out that the family separation it causes is “the saddest thing in the world.”
Regarding Cuban television, he was equally blunt: "There is neither electricity to watch it, nor electricity to create it, nor conditions to produce it."
In the interview with Jorge Martínez, Toirac also discussed the self-censorship imposed by the political environment: "When you are in a climate of terror, self-censorship definitely exists because you fear for your work." Paradoxically, he acknowledged that this pressure led him to discover "the most over-the-top jokes" of his career.
On a personal level, the comedian is dealing with an incurable eye disease that affects the center of the retina in one eye and threatens the other. Additionally, he is managing his wife's health issues and the passing of his father-in-law.
Due to the inability to make television or live broadcasts on the internet because of power outages and lack of connectivity, Toirac took refuge in writing: his book "Locos de barrio, segundo round" was completely written from his mobile phone, and he is negotiating its distribution in Cuba through remittance companies.
"Freedom begins in the mind and is the most difficult," Toirac summarized in the interview.
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