The comedian Mario Sardiñas, known for his character Chequera from the show "Vivir del cuento," posted a reel on Facebook in which he appears making a homemade antenna with a food tray in an amusing sketch that humorously illustrates the double scarcity faced by the island: lacking food and connectivity.
In the clip, his niece asks what he is doing and he replies, "Sorry, I'm making an antenna." When she points out the material used — "An antenna with a food tray?" — Chequera responds, "Yes, niece, let's see if it picks up anything. I've been without signal for a bunch of days."
The video condenses in just four sentences a reality that millions of Cubans immediately recognize: the utensil meant for eating is repurposed as a communication tool, because in Cuba, neither of those two things is guaranteed.
Homemade ingenuity with homemade antennas is not just a joke: it is a documented practice on the island.
In April 2026, a Cuban grandfather made an antenna using aluminum cans and coaxial cable to enhance the 4G signal.
Before, in Holguín, Cubans used pressure cooker lids as reflectors to enhance coverage, and since late 2023, videos have been circulating of people placing their phones inside modified plastic containers for the same purpose.
The sketch is the latest in a ongoing series with which Sardiñas has satirized the Cuban crisis in 2026.
On September 8, Chequera cooked "mop cloth" comparing the current situation to the Special Period of the 90s, in a video that garnered over 35,000 views.
Four days earlier, he pointed out the proverbs that no longer apply in Cuba —“the shrimp that falls asleep is taken by the current,” “water that you won’t drink, let it flow”— in a clip with over 64,000 views.
In August, turned the "kitipón" into a viral song about the four-hour blackout cycles followed by ten minutes of electricity.
The crisis that the character satirizes has specific figures. According to the Food Monitor Program, 96.91% of the Cuban population lacks adequate access to food, and 33.9% of households reported that at least one person went to bed hungry in the 30 days prior to the May 2026 survey.
Cooking oil was sold for between 4,000 and 7,000 Cuban pesos per bottle in August, in a country where inflation is estimated to be around 70% year-on-year.
Although "Vivir del cuento" is no longer part of the programming on Cuban television, Sardiñas maintains an active presence on social media with short reels that serve as a barometer of daily life on the island.
The new video amassed over 23,000 views and more than 1,000 reactions, a response that reflects how much the image of someone searching for a signal with nothing but an empty tray resonates with Cubans.
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