Ulises Toirac sat down with actor Jorge Martínez on the podcast "Everyone Talks," from Cubamastv and shared some of the most impactful statements he has made about the Cuban reality: his firm refusal to normalize the precariousness and his philosophy of not giving in to what he himself referred to as a "sixth world" country.
"I don't want to get used to a sixth-world country."
When Martínez asked him what still gives him hope, Toirac replied with a litany that suddenly encapsulated everyday life on the island:
"I don't want to get used to being without electricity for 20 hours a day. I don't want to get used to living in precarity. I don't want to get used to traveling in riquimbili. I don't want to get used to having to walk to avoid spending money. I don't want to get used to a country of the sixth world."
The comedian clarified that his rejection does not stem from desperation, but from a conscious decision: "I don't want to get used to it because I want, when I can live in a normal country, not to have to get used to that."
She summarized that stance with a phrase she has repeated in various forums: "I refuse to live in a state of overseverity. That is why I refuse to let existence be a summation of negativities."
Cuban television, a medium that no longer exists
The creator of "Do you swear to tell the truth?" was emphatic about the current state of television on the island: "In Cuba, talking about television is futile because there is neither electricity to watch it, nor electricity to produce it, nor conditions to create it."
That impossibility drove him to seek refuge in writing. His second book, "Locos de barrio. Segundo round," was entirely written on his mobile phone due to the lack of a computer and frequent power outages. The volume is available on Amazon.
The battle for his vision
Toirac revealed that he is going through a health process that he described as "pretty tough": he suffers from macular degeneration, a condition that affects the center of the retina and has already damaged the central vision in one eye.
"I am a guy who constantly lives with the threat of becoming partially blind or, as I would say, functionally blind, because it would make it impossible for me to read and write," he admitted.
The treatment involves intraocular injections that halt the progression of the disease but do not cure it. Given this possibility, he explored dictation tools on his mobile device to continue working.
Censorship, self-censorship, and freedom of thought
Regarding the pressure he experienced during his years on Cuban television, Toirac was direct: "When you are in an environment of terror, self-censorship definitely exists because you fear for your work."
He also reflected on intellectual freedom: "When you stop thinking for yourself and borrow others' opinions, what you're really doing is becoming part of the herd." He added, "Freedom begins in the mind and is the most difficult."
He was equally emphatic about the danger of silence: "The most dangerous thing, first for your mental peace and second for your own existence, is to remain silent because it will ultimately hit you."
Emigration, "the worst demographic disaster" of Cuba
Toirac described the Cuban emigration after 1959 as “the worst demographic disaster in the entire history of Cuba”, due to the irreversible family separation it causes: parents and children who never see each other again, siblings who hold onto decades-old grudges.
The statements from the podcast are set against a year of sustained criticism of the regime. In July, he described the electrical collapse with a viral image: “it’s no longer the light at the end of the tunnel; there is no tunnel”. On Tuesday, he posted on his social media: “Do you want less dissent? Invest in electricity, water, and gas.”
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