A Cuban from the diaspora recorded her mother's reaction upon discovering that the gift she was sent was not PVC sheets, but solar panels for her home in Cuba, and the video has become one of the most touching moments that the island's energy crisis has produced on social media.
Yunita Cervantes posted the clip last Sunday on TikTok from the account @gisellebeautysalon, and within a few days it gained more than 215,000 views, 4644 "likes," and 78 comments.
The trick was simple yet effective: to convince the mother that the equipment being unloaded in front of her house was PVC sheets, a common construction material. When the woman realized what was in front of her, she was left speechless.
"We made my mom believe they were PVC sheets, and when she saw they were solar panels, she was in shock. Thank you, my love, for always thinking of my family. I love you," Cervantes wrote in the video's description.
In the images, someone can be heard calling to the mother—whom they refer to as Maris—so that she can see "the panels," while the camera follows her. The voice narrating the scene summarizes the reaction: "She is happy with her panels, she thought it was a sheet, look at her little face."
Yunita Cervantes' gesture is not an isolated case. Throughout 2026, the Cuban diaspora has turned solar panels, batteries, and inverters into some of the most valued gifts that a family on the island can receive, and videos of these surprises regularly go viral.
The context explains why. Cuba experienced its eighth nationwide blackout of the year just three days before Cervantes published his video: on September 18, over nine million people were left without electricity, and the network took 32 hours to restore, as reported by Infobae. In some provinces, power outages have exceeded 60 consecutive hours.
In that scenario, solar systems have become one of the few alternatives for many Cuban families to access electricity during prolonged power outages. However, the prices are unaffordable for a large part of the population: the Government sells solar panels for 75,000 Cuban pesos, while in the informal market a full system can cost between 1,500 and 6,000 dollars.
The rise of home installations has also brought negative consequences. In September, several thefts of solar equipment were reported, and a Cuban was arrested for stealing a panel from someone else's roof.
In parallel, the Cuban government continues to offer tax benefits for the importation of photovoltaic solar systems, their parts, and essential components. The , published in August, upheld these exemptions, repealed Resolution 41/2026 from February, and consolidated the tax benefits related to renewable energy sources.
The video of Yunita Cervantes adds to a series of similar moments that have circulated this year: children working abroad for months to finance the solar system for their mothers, with reactions that capture, in just a few seconds, the impact of a prolonged energy crisis that the Cuban authorities have been unable to resolve.
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