The Cuban influencer La Cintumbare —whose real name is Cinthya Medrano García— set social media ablaze with a video posted on her Instagram account in which she claims that she prefers Cuban food over that of the United States, which she describes as "plastic" and lacking any nutritional value.
The clip emerged in response to followers who commented that she had lost a lot of weight. Instead of being concerned, she celebrated it and attributed it to a personal decision to get in shape.
"I am thin because I wanted to be a fitness girl. I wanted to be fit. That's why I decided to lose weight," she stated in the video.
Regarding food in the United States, she was emphatic: "I came back extremely overweight from the United States with all that plastic food they sell there. The food is terrible. That food from the United States is plastic. That food is worthless. All it does is make people gain weight and get fat."
He added, "I prefer to eat the food here in Cuba. Because no matter how bad it is, it's better than the food over there in the United States."
The reaction from her audience, however, was largely skeptical and filled with concern. Hundreds of comments point in a direction very different from the fitness narrative she proposes.
Several followers claim to have identified in the audio of the video sounds typical of a can used to smoke crack, known in Cuban slang as "piedra." "I know you won't pay attention, but you are consuming piedra. The sound heard in the first three seconds is from the can. Turn it down, get out of there," wrote one of them.
Others were even more direct: "Sir, the stone does not whet the appetite" and "He says fitness. That's the hunger he's going through."
Among the longer messages, one stood out that reminded her of her responsibilities as a mother: "You are a mother. You have a child who needs you to be present, healthy, and strong. [...] If you are truly using crack or struggling with an addiction, please seek professional help."
Another follower connected his current state to the emotional blow of his forced return to the island: “In my opinion, being deported affected him a lot. It’s also hard to deal with the shock of going from having a car, money, and good food to having nothing.”
References to her weight loss gained momentum after the Cuban singer Ja Rulay warned her about the effects of drug use. La Cintumbare had posted a video in which she addressed those who criticized her for using crack.
La Cintumbare was deported to Cuba in February 2025 by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after failing to appear at an immigration hearing in October 2023, which led to an order of deportation in absentia. She arrived on the island on a repatriation flight and has continued to maintain her controversial presence on social media since her return.
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