A Cuban woman employed to clean empty apartments in a U.S. condominium recently shared a video on TikTok that, in under two minutes, highlights the stark contrast between the abundance of discarded goods in the United States and the severe shortages faced by her family back in Cuba.
The content creator, known on TikTok as @familia.reyes792, showcases items left behind by tenants that she is compelled to dispose of: an unblemished mattress, unopened yogurts, and what she describes as unused medications.
“Look at this practically new mattress, it doesn’t appear dirty, damaged, or torn, folks,” she exclaims while navigating through the vacant apartment.
She explains that while objects are often left on sidewalks for others to claim freely, this practice is not feasible within the condominium; everything abandoned by tenants must be tossed out via the maintenance service, leaving her unable to keep any of it.
“It breaks my heart to throw all of this away, things I can’t take home because they belong to others,” she admits.
What pains her most is discarding food and sealed products. She opens a container to ensure it’s intact—and it is—but still, it must be discarded. “Look, all this is sealed, folks, all of this is going to the trash,” she laments.
The emotional blow is hardest when she connects what she sees with her family's reality in Cuba: “Imagine, at home, they've had to substitute cooking oil with lard because there's simply no way to buy it. Imagine having to throw away all these things.”
This mention of oil is not incidental. By 2026, Cuba is grappling with a severe food crisis, characterized by a scarcity of cooking oil: a liter of sunflower oil reached 2,500 Cuban pesos in Havana in July and soared to between 4,000 and 7,000 pesos in various parts of the country by August.
Alberto López Díaz, the Minister of the Food Industry, admitted in June that the rationed basket had not supplied oil, chicken, or yogurt for the entire year.
With oil shortages, many Cubans turned to pork lard as a substitute, but by August, even that alternative became scarce. Desperation peaked when, in early September, reports emerged of a truck loaded with oil being looted in Havana.
The video by @familia.reyes792 joins a recurring theme among the Cuban diaspora on social media: the contrast between the surplus discarded in the U.S. and the extreme scarcity in Cuba, where—as another Cuban woman showed just days earlier—even the smallest containers are reused to avoid any waste.
“It’s not easy, with the needs in our country, to have to see all these things thrown away,” the woman concludes, her voice choked with emotion.
Understanding the Contrast: U.S. Waste vs. Cuban Shortages
What challenges does the Cuban woman face in her job?
She faces emotional distress from having to dispose of perfectly usable items, while knowing her family in Cuba struggles with severe shortages.
How does the video highlight the differences between the U.S. and Cuba?
The video underscores the stark contrast by showing the abundance of items discarded in the U.S., while pointing out the extreme scarcity and recycling necessity in Cuba.
Why is the mention of cooking oil significant?
Cooking oil is symbolic of the acute food shortages in Cuba, with its price skyrocketing and availability becoming increasingly limited, forcing Cubans to find alternatives.