A Cuban resident of New Jersey returned from visiting her family in Ranchuelo, Villa Clara, with diarrhea, the flu, skin lesions, and five pounds less than before, after a trip she described as the worst of the three she has taken to Cuba since emigrating.
"This trip was a disaster for me," summarized Yodlena Falcón, who has been living in the United States for five years and shared her experience in a video on Facebook.
According to what he said, upon his return he had to take antibiotics due to a staphylococcus infection. "I arrived in this country with the flu, with staphylococcus, with diarrhea. I lost five pounds," he stated.
Falcón attributed some of the issues he experienced during his stay to the sanitary conditions he found in Ranchuelo.
"There’s the fly, there’s garbage everywhere, it’s a disaster," he lamented.
Her arrival was not easy either. After an issue with the plane in Miami that forced a change of aircraft, she landed in Santa Clara and waited for about an hour for her luggage, in the heat and, according to her account, without proper ventilation.
When he finally arrived in Ranchuelo, he encountered another issue that would practically define his entire stay: power outages.
According to Falcón, at times they had electricity for only about three hours a day. When the service returned, even in the early hours of the morning, a race would begin to make the most of it.
He would get up around five in the morning to start the washing machine and charge phones, lamps, and rechargeable fans before the next power outage.
This was compounded by mosquitoes and the accumulation of garbage in the area where her family lives. During the trip, she developed numerous boils on her skin and later claimed she was diagnosed with a staphylococcal infection.
He was also surprised by the prices. He recalled finding soft drinks for between 1,200 and 1,300 Cuban pesos, juices for about 500 pesos, and expensive foods that, at times, were not in good condition either.
"They say, 'No, there is everything.' It's a lie that there is everything. There is something, but in Cuba, there isn't everything," he stated.
One of the moments that impacted her the most was when she accompanied her mother to the cardiovascular center in Santa Clara. Falcón noted that she found the facility to be clean and received good medical attention, but upon leaving around 11 in the morning, she stated that they had trouble finding somewhere to eat because several businesses were affected by the power outage.
"More than the material shortages," she said, "she was struck by the appearance of the people she encountered."
"You could see the sadness, you could see hunger on their faces, and I understood that they must be going hungry," he recounted, describing his perception of what he observed during the trip.
On the fourth day, he asserts, the emotional impact eventually took its toll.
"I felt depressed in Cuba. This trip was a disaster for me. I've been three times, and all of them have been bad, but this one was the worst of all," he stated.
His account also takes place in a municipality that has faced epidemiological challenges. In July, health authorities confirmed in Ranchuelo the circulation of serotypes II and IV of dengue, with 12 patients hospitalized and over 10,300 screenings conducted.
After the impact of his first video, Falcón published another to respond to those who thought his account was exaggerated. He explained that he works almost every day in the United States and announced that he will use the money earned from the monetization of the video to buy a fan and a rechargeable lamp to send to someone in need in Cuba.
The publication also prompted numerous testimonies from emigrants who claimed to have experienced similar situations during recent visits to the island. One woman shared that she returned with a severe case of diarrhea and ended up in the emergency room.
Another comment highlighted those who do not have the option to leave: "It's terrible what people in Cuba are experiencing; at least you can say: well, in a few days I'm getting out of this hell, but imagine those who can't leave."
Despite the fact that during the most difficult moments of the journey he thought he didn’t want to return, Falcón assured that he will continue traveling to Cuba for his mother.
"As long as she is alive and breathing, I will be there," he concluded.
Filed under: