A Cuban grandfather made a Christmas tree out of hand-cut cardboard pieces while his granddaughter, content creator Lauren Daniela, emphasized that buying one in stores costs an impossible amount for most Cubans given the current salaries.
The reel posted on Instagram garnered over 18,000 "likes" and nearly 1,600 comments within a few hours, making the grandfather the star of this holiday creation.
“In Cuba, Christmas is a luxury that few can afford. Buying a small tree in Cuba today is madness. With local salaries, spending between 25 and up to 70 dollars is something very few can manage,” Lauren explains at the beginning of the video.
Faced with that reality, the grandfather—a retired welder who receives a pension of 3,727 Cuban pesos a month, less than eight dollars at the informal exchange rate—took a piece of cardboard and cut six pieces, which he then joined together to form the silhouette of a tree.
Lauren's aunt provided the base: a paint bucket lined with an old dress that, according to the young woman, "turned out elegant."
The finishing touch was added by the grandmother, who pulled out some Christmas lights that had been stored for 16 years and, against all odds, still work.
"My grandmother took out her most treasured possession. A set of lights that she has had with us for 16 years. And they still shine like the first day," Lauren recounted before revealing the illuminated tree.
"Tell me if I don’t have the smartest and most beautiful grandfather in the world. Look at my grandfather's hands; they are hands that have worked all his life," Lauren concluded, inviting her followers to rate how the Christmas tree turned out from one to ten.
The economic context surrounding this video is shocking. The minimum wage in Cuba is 3,210 pesos per month, equivalent to less than five dollars at the current informal exchange rate—around 925 pesos per dollar—while the average salary is about 7,354 pesos, less than ten dollars. Spending between 25 and 70 dollars on a Christmas tree translates to between three and nine full minimum wages.
Lauren Daniela, based in Matanzas, has been documenting her grandparents' life for months, highlighting the creative solutions they employ to cope with scarcity. Her grandfather went viral in April by making a homemade 4G antenna using aluminum and beer cans, and in July, the young woman bought a new house for her grandparents with funds raised through her digital community.
Filed under: