On Monday, a Cuban woman who posts on TikTok under the username @la.cubanita621 shared a 37-second video expressing her frustration over the challenging conditions in which she attempts to prepare meals for her children. In the clip, she spends over 30 minutes in front of the stove trying to fry plantains to serve alongside a simple dish of white rice.
"Look at what the revolution provides us... instead of progress, we're moving backward. The next thing we'll need is a loincloth," she remarks while capturing the scene on video.
The woman explains that her family's meal for the day consists solely of fried plantains with white rice, as chicken is financially out of reach. "I've been here for more than half an hour trying to fry these simple plantains so my kids can eat them with some white rice because we can't even think about having chicken," she states, adding, "Imagine, who can afford that?"
The cost of chicken in Cuba highlights the difficulty of her question: a 10-pound package ranges from 4,500 to 5,300 Cuban pesos in provinces like Holguín, while the official average monthly salary hovers around 6,930 pesos. Buying meat would nearly deplete a family's entire monthly income.
Creativity in Crisis
The woman also takes a jab at President Miguel Díaz-Canel, who has repeatedly urged Cubans to adapt to the crisis with "creativity" and "creative resistance." "As our President says, we have to be creative," she says with evident sarcasm, concluding the video with the opposition slogan "Patria y Vida, my people."
This video is not an isolated incident. According to the Food Monitor Program, more than nine million Cubans cook under precarious conditions due to the ongoing energy crisis, with power outages lasting over 20 hours daily. This forces many to use wood, charcoal, or makeshift stoves. One woman was seen cooking at 3 AM during a brief window of electricity, and in May 2024, a mother was documented cooking with wood on a street in Holguín due to blackouts and fuel shortages.
The Broader Food Crisis
In Villa Clara, the situation has deteriorated to the point where entire families and municipalities rely on state-prepared meals because they cannot cook at home. The food situation is equally dire. The Food Monitor Program estimates that 96.91% of the Cuban population lacks adequate access to food, with one in three households reporting at least one member went to bed hungry in 2025, an increase of 9.3 percentage points from the previous year.
The video by @la.cubanita621 includes the hashtags "Patria y Vida" and "cubalibre" and starts with a stark warning: "This is for all those idiots who talk about the revolution and whatever."
While Díaz-Canel called for creativity and courage at the International Fair of Havana on November 25, 2025, millions of Cubans are spending over half an hour in front of a stove trying to fry plantains.
FAQs on Cuba's Energy and Food Crisis
Why is cooking such a challenge in Cuba?
Cooking in Cuba is challenging due to prolonged power outages, which can last over 20 hours a day, forcing many to resort to using wood, charcoal, or makeshift stoves.
How does the cost of chicken impact Cuban families?
The high price of chicken, costing between 4,500 and 5,300 Cuban pesos for a 10-pound package, is nearly unaffordable for many families, as it would consume almost their entire monthly salary.
What is the Food Monitor Program's role in Cuba?
The Food Monitor Program tracks the availability and accessibility of food in Cuba, highlighting that 96.91% of the population lacks adequate access to nutrition.