The Cuban content creator Robert Evangelista recently took to Instagram to openly reject offers from several businesses to promote food packages and shipments to Cuba, stating that his audience—primarily comprised of island residents—lacks the financial means to purchase these products.
Evangelista detailed how over the past three weeks, more than four companies approached him with such proposals, all of which he firmly declined.
"I don't promote food shipments or packages for Cuba. Do you know why? Because the Cubans living here, my audience, who've helped me grow on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, are starving and have to perform miracles just to put a piece of rotten mortadella on the table for their children," Evangelista asserted.
He revealed that he was offered $700 for the promotion, a sum he refused without hesitation. "My conscience and dignity are not worth seven hundred dollars," he stated resolutely.
Evangelista was unequivocal in pointing out that it would be hypocritical to suggest his followers purchase products he knows they cannot afford. "I don't have the heart to tell someone to buy a food package when I know that the people following me can't afford it," he explained.
He also took a veiled swipe at other content creators who do accept such advertising. "There are other creators. Or those on the other side, they're all hypocrites," he remarked, concluding his video with a straightforward message to interested businesses: "Don't write to me anymore, I don't do promotions."
Evangelista's refusal highlights a stark reality corroborated by data. According to the "In Cuba, There Is Hunger 2025" survey by the Food Monitor Program and Cuido60, published this month, 33.9% of Cuban households reported that at least one person went to bed hungry in 2025, up from 25% in 2024.
The gap between the cost of these food packages and the actual purchasing power of Cubans is enormous. In 2025, the average monthly salary in Cuba was 6,930 Cuban pesos, equivalent to merely about 13 dollars at the informal exchange rate, while the food packages offered from abroad range between 64 and 170 dollars.
The soaring prices of basic foods on the island exacerbate the situation. In Havana, a pound of pork loin costs between 900 and 980 Cuban pesos, and an egg is around 100 pesos, far exceeding what most families can allocate for daily sustenance.
Evangelista is renowned for his humorous and socially satirical videos about the crisis in Cuba, with a strong presence on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. In March, he participated alongside beauty queen Leah Reyes in a humanitarian aid campaign for over 40 vulnerable families on the island.
The World Food Program warned in February of this year that Cuba faces mounting challenges to food security, worsened by fuel shortages and the suspension of supplies from Venezuela, a crisis that 80% of Cubans perceive as more severe than the Special Period of the 1990s.
Understanding the Economic Challenges in Cuba
Why did Robert Evangelista refuse the promotion offers?
Robert Evangelista refused the promotion offers because he believes his audience, primarily made up of Cubans living on the island, cannot afford the food packages he was asked to promote.
What does the "In Cuba, There Is Hunger 2025" survey reveal?
The survey reveals that 33.9% of Cuban households reported at least one person going to bed hungry in 2025, highlighting a significant increase from the previous year.
How does the cost of food packages compare to average Cuban wages?
In 2025, the average monthly salary in Cuba was about 13 dollars at the informal exchange rate, whereas food packages from abroad cost between 64 and 170 dollars, creating a significant affordability gap.