GUANTÁNAMO, Cuba - San Antonio del Sur, a municipality in Cuba’s easternmost province, is reached via a road that captivates the eyes of visitors. With the sea on one side and mountains lining the horizon, dry rocky outcrops emerge amid vegetation tinged with autumn colors in the middle of spring. It's almost unthinkable that in this semi-desert landscape, everything could have been flooded.
Alieska Lara and Rubilmer Díaz recall that day last October when the overwhelming force of water turned into the nightmare of a seemingly endless night.
Their house was still under construction. When they heard the cyclone was approaching, they moved their belongings to places they believed were safe. They never imagined that the worst would come in the early morning hours.
“Our house is a bit elevated, and when my husband went to check, the water was already ankle-deep. That’s when we realized it wasn’t just rain – it was the river. The river had never reached that area before. Everything happened so fast; in just 20 minutes, in complete darkness, with no electricity, the water was already halfway up inside the house,” Alieska recalls.
She was six months pregnant. Protecting the baby was the most important thing. Alieska is petite, and during the storm, a shoe rack became her refuge. She and her husband stayed on top of it, safe, for over 24 hours.
“We couldn’t get out,” says Rubilmer. “Outside, the water was too strong, the current had too much force. If it swept you away, there was nothing to hold on to. We stayed there until the water receded.”
During those endless hours, Rubilmer found a lipstick floating in the water and used it to mark the rising water level on the wall. Even with the room repainted today, those marks he left behind are a reminder, like someone trying to forget but unable to.
“But not everything was bad,” he says. “Those moments also bring out the best in people. We saw many people sharing what little they had, space.”
In the days following the hurricane, fear struck again when a false rumor spread that the dam had broken. The town panicked once more. Alieska had to run several blocks, carrying the weight of her pregnancy and the memory of a previous loss.
After many harrowing days – and several scares near the end of her pregnancy – their daughter was born on December 14, a month early. The premature birth brought new fears and complications, but in time, they were able to breathe a little easier.
“We’re still taking things out and cleaning off the mud. Because of the costs toward the end of the pregnancy, we hadn’t been able to finish building,” Alieska explains.
They haven’t forgotten those intense and difficult days – nor the donations, including baby clothes, that helped them cope with the unexpected early arrival of their daughter. Everything happened so quickly, but the help came at just the right time, and it’s still coming.
Rubilmer and Alieska received one of the hygiene kits donated by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), to support recovery efforts after Hurricane Oscar in Guantánamo. The kits include essential hygiene and emergency items – such as soap, underwear, toothpaste, and containers for collecting clean water – which are especially vital when people have lost everyday supplies.
Recovery after such loss is a slow process. These supplies have added a bit of relief and become useful in their daily lives, especially in a context where access to basic goods is difficult.
Months after that anguished night and those intense days, they share their story — often repeating that not everything was bad. They hold tightly to hope, believing there's still a long road ahead – and many birthdays of a little girl yet to celebrate.
