Sharing the joyous news of an impending baby is a monumental occasion, but attempting this from outside of Cuba can quickly turn into a chaotic ordeal. With an internet connection reminiscent of a bygone era and unpredictable power outages, what should be a special moment often morphs into a test of endless patience.
This was the experience of Gretel Susel and her husband as they endeavored to inform the future grandmother on the island. Despite all their efforts, the message eventually got through. "Hey, you're going to be a grandma!" the son repeats persistently, while his mother on the island repeatedly asks, "Are you at home? Are you at the little house?" Amid laughter and frustration, the call turns into a surreal scene: the connection drops, voices fade in and out, and the news drifts into oblivion like so many other things in Cuba.
The video, shared on TikTok by @grettel.susel, not only provoked laughter but also highlighted a reality faced by thousands of Cubans every day. Comments flooded in, reflecting shared experiences: "I get so frustrated, and my dad does too; in the end, we hang up with high blood pressure"; "In the end, she never heard it"; "Only a Cuban knows how it feels, for God's sake. What an annoyance!"; "These calls drive me crazy"; "I end up with a headache"; "I thought it was just at my house"; "Calls to Cuba are terrible, ugh"; "This happens with my mom too, it makes me so sad I sometimes cry without her noticing"; "Might as well send a telegram"; "At this rate, the child will be 15 before she knows she's a grandma"; "It's a terrible situation, the family grows, and they don't even know"; and "I get stressed every time I call, my God, you can't even talk."
Grettel, responding to the comments, did not shy away from humor. "It's best to hang up because you just can't," she replied in one. In another, she wrote, "That was the 101st attempt to tell her, and still nothing." Her sarcastic tone couldn't mask the exhaustion beneath a reality that repeats itself for Cubans both on and off the island.
The Reality of Communication Struggles
This video is not the first to illustrate the ordeal of making calls to Cuba, a blend of frustration and laughter that underscores how distance and the island's conditions complicate even the simplest act: talking to loved ones. The outcome? According to the text in the video: "In the end, she found out," though it's unclear if it was through the call or because the electricity returned just in time for the news to work its magic.