It is July 9, 2023. Marina Rivers, one of the most popular influencers in Spain, uploads three photos to her Instagram account. The young woman appears in a dress the same color as the classic car on which she is leaning. The message: “A ray of sunshine and a matching car on the boardwalk”. It could be one more publication of the thousands that these kids upload a day, but this time their summer pose is not liked by everyone. The reason? They accuse her of laundering the Cuban regime.
Rivers is one of the most visible faces of a group of 20 content creators, including Jorge Cyrus and Twin Melody, who was in Cuba a few weeks ago doing what they do best: promoting brands and places.. They lived a dream vacation on the largest island in the Caribbean. This was reflected in their networks. But what seemed like another enviable trip, has ended up entangled in a geopolitical brown. While they uploaded photos in Havana and showed the luxury hotels in Varadero, opponents of the communist regime raised their voices against these internet figures. Has the Cuban government —self-proclaimed communist— paid these people to promote how wonderful the Caribbean island is? “They disguise the dictatorship of Cuba!” openly criticized Dina Stars, a Cuban influencer based in Spain.
But the photos continued. Drinks, white sand and crystal clear water. Varadero and its thousand sunsets. “Knowing Cuba and its people”, published the Twin Melody, two twins who accumulate 19 million followers on TikTok thanks to their dances. It is not the first time that famous Spaniards travel to the island and advertise it as paradise, but the origin of the criticism this time does not lie directly with them, but rather with the business model of these creators and who is behind it.. They were invited by a company that is related to senior leaders of the regime, they returned on July 11 (coinciding with the anniversary of the 2021 revolts) and they have shown everyone the luxury of the island without talking about the reality of the street. A perfect cocktail that has made gozadera form.
Who pays for this?
Criticism focuses on Enjoy Travel Group, the company behind the trip. It is a Spanish SL with headquarters in Sant Cugat del Vallès, Barcelona. The controversy comes with the relationship between Cuba and the tour operator. The original entity, Enjoy Cuba, is located in Havana. The president of the Skedio Group —which encompasses all these names— was called Jordi Ballbe Sans, he was also Spanish and passed away just a few weeks ago, on June 10. After what happened, the Minister of Tourism of Cuba, Juan Carlos García Granda, did not hesitate to offer his condolences to the family publicly through his Twitter: “We regret the death of Jordi Ballbe Sans, president of the Skedio Group, due to an unfortunate accident. Our condolences to family, friends and the Skedio Travel team”.
We regret the death of Jordi Ballbe Sans, President of the Skedio group, due to an unfortunate accident.
Our condolences to family, friends and the #SkedioTravel team. pic.twitter.com/doUrBz2Awq– Juan Carlos Garcia Granda (@JuannCarlosGG) June 10, 2023
To make matters worse, different articles published in opposition media on the other side of the pond assure that Yuniel Mesa, the CEO of Enjoy Travel Group, is one of the sons of René Mesa, the island's Minister of Construction..
The company denies at all times its relationship with the regime and assures El Confidencial that it has no ties to the Cuban government. Even Yuniel claims to have no family relationship with the leader. “Besides, the people there thanked us for coming. You have to help the country with tourism,” explains Diego Moreno, head of the Nickname representation agency, which includes all the influencers who participated in the campaign..
However, another series of coincidences caught the attention of public opinion.. The influencer expedition's return date was July 11, coinciding with the second anniversary of the massive protests in Cuba.. “The original date was going to be earlier, but it was delayed because it coincided with La velada de Ibai [an influencer event that filled the Metropolitan],” says Moreno..
Moreno claims to be aware of all this commotion, but explains that the trip is something much more normal than it seems. Everything comes as a result of the opening of a new Barcelona-Havana route promoted by the Spanish company Enjoy Travel Group as a tourist attraction. They were simply contacted to promote this and other company travel offers..
SPANISH INFLUENCERS 🇪🇸 DISGUISE THE CUBA DICTATORSHIP 🇨🇺 / THIS CUBA IS NOT REAL 💔https://t.co/ypjdHQ3EhT pic.twitter.com/EUP0xzTjpr
— Dina Stars 🖤 (@Dinastars_) July 11, 2023
“It is a two-year contract where we are committed to promoting the Dominican Republic, Mexico, the Maldives and Cuba, the destinations that the tour operator moves. It is an agreement without money, in which influencers travel without charging anything in exchange for the experience,” they comment from the agency. “In the short term, the plan is to promote flights and then promote tourism in those destinations.. Now, we have not spoken to anyone from the government, this has not been a diplomatic trip. Nothing to see”, details Moreno.
To give more substance to its commitment, Enjoy Travel Group recalls that it did not organize this tour alone. They also had the help of large hotel companies, some also Spanish. “It is a campaign of the new charter flight inaugurated on June 29 from Barcelona. And the chains with which we usually collaborate both in Cuba and in Mexico and the Dominican Republic have participated, which are Blue Diamond, Iberostar and Meliá, among others,” they explain from Enjoy.
Lifeguard for the regime or simple leisure?
This event has reopened the debate on what to do with tourism in Cuba and what the traveler should think when they decide to visit the island. In recent years, the Caribbean government has emphasized trying to attract tourists as a key sector of its economy, wounded by sanctions and the harsh context that the region is experiencing.. The opponents have taken this bet as part of their fight to end the regime and that is why they see in the people who decide to go on a trip a kind of lifeline for a regime that is running out.
The data shows that this sector already accounts for close to 10% of the gross domestic product and the Government's idea is that the figure continues to grow. In fact, the pandemic dealt a tremendous blow to its economy and caused the situation to falter even more.. Your recovery is a national challenge for financial recovery.
For now, he seems to be getting it.. The Cuban National Statistics Office reported in May that, in the first four months of 2023, Cuba received more than 1.2 million foreign visitors, 190% more than a year earlier.. And they aim to reach 3.5 million. It will be necessary to see if, intentionally or not, the trip of the 20 Spanish tiktokers helps them to achieve it.