The Cuban content creator Rachel Téllez (@rachel_tellez2) has once again taken social media by storm with a sketch about the rich and the poor in the maternity ward that sparked laughter and comments on Instagram.
The video, just under three minutes long, pits two characters against each other in the same medical consultation: a well-to-do woman, organized and accompanied by her husband, and a working-class woman who arrives alone, with several unruly children and even a dog that sneaks into the office.
The contrast begins from the very first second. The "refined" lady, all moderation and manners, expresses her gratitude to the doctor with the utmost solemnity: "Thank you, doctor, for seeing us today in your office. Yes, we come with a great, great eagerness to meet our princess, don’t we, my dear?"
It explains that the pregnancy was the result of a fertility treatment and that the nanny who will care for the baby has been in the family for generations, so much so that it's impossible to calculate the time: "The nanny was my great-grandmother's nanny, my grandmother's, my mother's, mine, and now the baby's."
On the other side of the coin, the reality is radically different. The character showcases Cuban spirit in its fullest expression, chewing gum, with extreme gestures, arriving without her husband because he's "busy taking a picture," and accompanied by a dog named Sisobra. She has a big belly, about to give birth, a baby in her arms, and three other children—two from a previous marriage and one from her husband—who are fighting in the waiting room while she tries to control them, shouting: "Hey, don’t hit your sister! What did I tell you about hitting? Pull her hair, don’t just stand there!"
The chaos reaches its peak when the dog bursts into the office and she has to push it out: "Oh doctor, the dog doesn't want to leave now." Then, with a mix of exhaustion and resignation, she confesses: "My husband's brother told me I couldn't come here. Do you know how I am? I'm feeling overwhelmed, I'm going crazy."
The sketch connects with a deeply rooted tradition in Cuban humor on social media: the caricature of recognizable social archetypes that create immediate identification both in the diaspora and on the island.
Rachel Téllez strengthens her presence on Instagram with something she excels at: portraying reality, sometimes with humor, other times with satire, or simply with sincerity. In August, she posted a clip recreating the farewell of a Cuban mother at the airport that brought tears to her followers who felt a connection.
That same month, she responded decisively to those who criticized her on social media for buying her son a replica backpack.
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