A person lights a candle in their home in Havana and waits. They do not know whether the power will return in an hour or in an entire day…
In Cuba, 2026 is the year of blackouts lasting up to 40 hours at a time. The national electric system barely generates 1.160 megawatts against demand exceeding 3.000, and in February more than 60% of the territory was left in darkness at the same time.
United States restrictions on the oil reaching the island have made everything worse: today, a tank of liquefied gas for cooking costs about 34 dollars, while the average salary on the island is around 30 dollars a month.
Food rots in powerless refrigerators, transportation collapses, and garbage piles up in the streets.
And amid that nationwide blackout, there are streets where the lights never go out. Homes with their own generators, electric cars charging without a hitch, a parallel life that knows neither candles nor hand fans.
The same island, two different countries depending on the neighborhood where you happened to be born.