Baffling Viral Video Sparks Curiosity: What Are People Picking Up Off a Havana Street?

A puzzling video recorded on the Calzada del Cerro, near the fire station and close to the Canal neighborhood in Cerro, Havana, has stirred a wave of reactions and conjecture. The footage reveals more than a dozen individuals—many of them elderly—bending down in the middle of the street to pick up papers scattered by a child accompanied by a young adult. Their eagerness to risk their lives amidst traffic to grab these "papers" continues to fuel discussion.

The most intriguing aspect: nobody seems to know for sure what was being collected. While they resemble banknotes, the papers appear more like plain sheets when viewed from afar. Posted on Facebook on May 25 by singer Saúl Manuel without any clarifying explanation, the video sparked a storm of over 1,300 mixed comments ranging from mockery and disdain to social critique and moral outrage.

Speculations: What Were People Collecting?

1. Political Propaganda (Leaflets)

A frequently cited theory suggests that the papers were political leaflets, often critical of the government. However, this idea loses traction considering how swiftly Cuban authorities typically respond to such situations.

2. Money (Counterfeit?)

Some claimed they saw "one-peso bills," "hundred-euro notes," or even "dollars." Given the dire economic situation, one user rationalized the scene by stating, “Even if they were just single notes, with hunger around, it's understandable.” Yet, others countered that if it were indeed money, “cars wouldn't have been able to pass.”

3. Worthless Papers (Wrapping or Sanitary)

A more humorous—yet possibly accurate—hypothesis proposes that the papers were wrappers from caramelized coconut treats blown away from a local vendor, with bystanders trying to help retrieve them. In that scenario, what role does the child, reminiscent of Tekashi, play? “Now the coconuts will be dirty too,” joked a user. Others speculated they might be utility bill stubs or toilet paper.

4. Tickets, Commercial Flyers, or Lottery Slips

A minority suggested they were "concert invites," "business coupons," or even "lottery slips."

5. A Hidden Camera Prank?

Hidden cameras often test spontaneous reactions to set-up or bizarre scenarios, but typically there's a follow-up revealing the reality, something missing in this footage.

Beyond the Papers: Need, Dignity, and Control

Regardless of what was actually being picked up, the event has become a mirror reflecting the harsh living conditions in Cuba and the ideological divides within and beyond the island. Comments like “They’ve been robbed of their dignity,” “Throw crumbs, and the people will pick up anything,” or “They pick up papers but don’t demand freedom,” highlight deep-seated discontent and polarization.

While some label the paper collectors as “submissive,” “lackeys,” or “hungry,” others call for empathy: “It’s easy to criticize from the outside, but here, people are genuinely hungry.”

What Does This Say About Current Cuba?

This incident sheds light on three critical tensions in contemporary Cuba:

• Extreme material need, pushing people to humiliating acts for whatever is on the ground.
• Institutional distrust, where even simple events are viewed with skepticism and seen as manipulation.
• Social and symbolic fracture between those who still believe in the system, those who openly reject it, and those merely surviving without faith or future.

What began as a street recording has evolved into a viral phenomenon encapsulating, with starkness and irony, many of the current contradictions and pains in Cuban society. We may never know for certain what was being picked up that day in El Cerro, but it's clear that the desperate gesture of bending down to grab something from the ground is not just physical: it symbolizes a nation forced to bow too many times.