Cuban broadcaster Laritza Camacho took to Facebook on Monday to share a raw account of her experience walking through Havana on the July 27 holiday. Her narrative paints a stark contrast to the regime's triumphant rhetoric: a city bereft of transportation, littered with garbage, and plagued by building collapses, while residents scramble to gather water with carts and buckets.
"It's the morning of the 27th, a holiday. Yet, it feels no different in a city that increasingly wakes up devoid of transport, real jobs, with obnoxious hawkers and obscene music," Camacho lamented.
During her extensive trek across several neighborhoods, the actress encountered building collapses on the bustling Galiano Street, along with crowds of people and individuals sprawled like discarded trash in the doorways.
Behind the National Library, she observed an unfinished building—a "sad ruin" at first glance.
The streets were rife with refuse: "Bonfires and garbage. Sweat and trash. People on scooters, gesticulating, struggling. Individuals with carts and buckets collecting water."
Upon returning home, Camacho overheard a local resident shouting, and his words resonated with her so profoundly that she shared them with her friends and followers.
"Everything is collapsing. The micro apartments are deteriorating faster than others. Everything they do is wrong, they're the epitome of inefficiency. Now they're set on destroying the underground, and no one cares."
Her post came a day after Miguel Díaz-Canel claimed during the central July 26 event in Pinar del Río that "the response to suffocation is inventiveness, creativity, and, although it annoys them, also the joy of the Cuban people."
This statement unleashed a torrent of sarcastic replies on social media, with comments like "What joy?" and "Here, the only feelings people have are pain and despair. The joy is yours because you lack nothing."
The radio and television host didn't miss the opportunity for irony: "Celebrations follow the 26th, the 'happiest day in history' (I pray for the sterile dead, those who believed... it's beautiful and necessary to believe in something... amen)."
This post is part of a pattern of sustained criticism from Laritza throughout July.
On July 25, she dismantled the official slogan "Siempre es 26," interpreting it as the regime's admission that "everything remains the same, nothing changes."
That same day, she accused the ruling elite: "All the measures they take are to entrench themselves and their associates in power and luxury."
Days earlier, she unequivocally declared: "I oppose the Cuban government because the Cuban government is against Cuba. Nothing works in my country."
Her voice joins that of comedian Ulises Toirac, who satirically used "Siempre es 26" as a metaphor for the country's perpetual collapse.
Camacho concluded her account with a statement that encapsulates the reality of this holiday more accurately than any official speech: "Holiday. Hardly anyone works. Just another day. Cuba 2026."
Cuban Holidays: Challenges and Criticism
What issues did Laritza Camacho highlight during her walk in Havana?
Laritza Camacho highlighted the lack of transportation, accumulated garbage, building collapses, and people collecting water with carts and buckets.
How did social media react to Miguel Díaz-Canel's statement?
Social media reacted with sarcasm and criticism, questioning the supposed joy of the Cuban people amidst the ongoing struggles and hardships.
What is the significance of the slogan "Siempre es 26" in Camacho's critique?
Camacho interpreted "Siempre es 26" as the regime's admission that nothing changes and everything remains the same, highlighting the stagnation in Cuba.