An older man riding his bicycle in San Cristóbal, Artemisa, became the star of one of the videos by content creator Yeison López this Friday, who proposed to him, no less than to earn 500 Cuban pesos for every plank he completed.
The challenge started when the content creator passing by on a motorcycle asked him, "Do you think you're in good physical shape or not? I'll pay you 500 pesos for each plank you do."
The gentleman, who faced the challenge visibly exhausted after pedaling on his bicycle with a cigarette between his lips, did not hesitate to accept despite warning, "Oops, I'm worn out."
Although Yeison told him that he would give him some time to recover, the man got off the bike and started doing push-ups one after another without letting go of the cigarette at any moment.
After finishing the sixth repetition, López summarized what he had just witnessed: "3,000 pesos there easily, with the tobacco in his mouth and not letting go."
What added an extra emotional weight to the clip was the revelation from the protagonist himself: he had a scheduled surgery for that very weekend. "I have an operation now on this eye, this weekend, on Friday," he said while chatting with the creator and assuring him that he was already prepared for the procedure.
The reaction in the comments was a mix of admiration, humor, and emotion. "Cubans always impress me. They may be down in certain conditions, but they always hold their heads up," wrote one user. Another summed up the scene with a single phrase: "That man is pure magical realism!"
The detail about the tobacco sparked its own debate. While some urged López to advise him to quit smoking—especially before an operation—others defended the protagonist. “The guy is 60 years old; he has probably been smoking for over 40 years. He has years with his habits, his history, his culture. You stand by the old man and help him,” responded a supporter. Another comment was quite blunt: “I’d rather be dead than give up tobacco. Original Cuban.”
The video is part of the journey that Yeison has built on his account @hermandadtmph, where he documents stories of workers and Cuban families in precarious situations in the province of Artemisa. Among his posts is the story of Dainer, a 12-year-old boy from Bahía Honda who trimmed palm fronds and walked barefoot to school, with a video that garnered over 450,000 views.
He also shared the story of Miguel, a boy who sold sweets by walking two kilometers to a beach, and the story of a worker from San Cristóbal whom his followers chose to gift a motorcycle to help him in his daily life.
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