A Tale of Two Islands: Youtubers from Cuba share their experiences in the Dominican Republic

Santo Domingo —

the social media personalities known as Waldir Diaz of WaldiShow and Estiben Marquez of Estibito Dominico de Cuba have been in the Dominican Republic for several weeks now, recording videos for their YouTube channels and sharing with their followers their experiences, experiences and favorite things about the Dominican Republic.

With a career of four years, approximately 45,000 subscribers, and more than 500 videos on his YouTube channel, Waldi is dedicated to traveling to different countries in Latin America, reacting to these places, expressing his opinion, and talking about his experiences in Cuba.

For his part, Estibito has been on YouTube for three years. His channel has more than 16,000 subscribers and 376 videos in which he comments on the situation in his country and shows his trips to other countries, especially the Dominican Republic.

Cuban YouTubers share their amazement for the DR and narrate the reality of their country

Estibito, who is visiting the country for the third time, has been exploring the different places for two months.

“It never ceases to amaze me. The Dominican Republic has everything,” commented the YouTuber.

On the other hand, this is Waldi’s first time stepping on Dominican soil, but this has not made it a less shocking experience for the foreigner.

“I’ve been here for 15 days and in 15 days I’ve been amazed by the whole Dominican Republic. This is a very beautiful country,” he said.

Cultural shocks

When traveling from one country to another, it is usual to experience a sense of strangeness or even nostalgia when adapting to the different customs and environments of the place you arrive.

For Waldi, the biggest culture shock has been the large advertising screens, the lights, the cars, and the famous plugs. He said, “In Cuba you don’t see that.”

On the contrary, the most surprising thing for Estibito was the food.

“I say that Dominicans are practically the people who eat the best food in the world,” the YouTuber said.

He also highlighted the Internet connection and “the ease that young Dominicans have to be able to undertake, to get ahead if they set their minds to it” as notorious points from his perspective.

Both Cubans agreed that having a good internet connection was very difficult in their country of origin.

“I remember that in my house the connection only went up to 50 kilowatts per second,” said Estibito. “In Cuba I had two megabytes and the connection would go down,” added Waldi.

They also commented that although Havana has had internet since 2016, it became more modernized during the pandemic.

Among other problems in their country of origin, Waldi said that Cuba is going through a “fuel crisis.” Estibito, for his part, explained that there are also far fewer cars in Cuba, which explains his amazement at the overcrowded streets of the Dominican Republic.

Old perception

The interviewees revealed that they previously believed the Dominican Republic was similar to Cuba until they arrived and saw the whole reality. They were surprised by the level of development achieved.

“Before, the only thing I related to the Dominican Republic was the movie Sanky Panky and Punta Cana,” said Waldi.

They also said that Dominican films are very popular in Cuba. Some titles mentioned were “Lotoman,” “Perico Ripiao,” and “Feo de Día y Lindo de Noche,” among others.

Tested dishes

Picalonga took the top spot for both YouTubers’ favorite Dominican food. It is a popular street dish made from fried pork and beef, often served with tostones.

Other Dominican dishes that pleased the palates of the interviewees were mofongo and chicharrones.

Estibito pointed out that pork is very expensive in Cuba and “not everyone can afford it. There they go up to a year and a half without eating pork.”

“Here there is a lot of food everywhere. That surprises me when I go to the supermarkets and think about my family. If my mom could see this… The amount of wonderful things there are here in this country,” confessed Waldi, who also admits that it has been a little challenging for his mother to see him leave her side but that she also understands that this was” a step I had to take to improve my quality of life and grow professionally.”

Opportunities

“Back there, we didn’t have the same opportunities,” Waldi also added, revealing that the blackouts that have been happening regularly in their country mainly affected them when it came to managing their videos and content creation.

“But on the other hand it is a very difficult step for us to make. I am leaving my one-year-old daughter behind,” Estibito continued, explaining the sacrifice it represents for him but also for many other Latin Americans who find themselves in his situation, wanting to seek better conditions for their families.

For Waldi, the opportunities that come are much better than the ones he left behind. “The only thing I really miss is my family. I talk every day with my parents, with my mother, with my girlfriend,” said the interviewee.

On the other hand, Estibito has more nostalgia for his country of origin: “I miss the family and on the other hand I miss my neighborhood a lot. I grew up in the neighborhood, playing dominoes on the corner, going with my friends here and there. I miss that a lot. When I’m here I feel like I’m at home, but logically it’s not the same.”

A nation “blessed by nature”

Waldi, who has been in the country for just over two weeks, has only had the opportunity to be in Santo Domingo and Puerto Plata.

“Puerto Plata has surprised me. A very clean and beautiful place,” he said. However, he expressed his intention to continue visiting more places until he gets to “know them all from end to end.”

Estibito, with more time in the country, said he had visited Tenares, Santo Domingo, Cabarete, Sosúa, Baní, and Constanza, among other places. The interviewee expressed his amazement with the country’s incredible diversity of environments and ecosystems, from the Dunes of Baní to the rivers of Constanza. In his opinion, “the Dominican Republic is blessed by nature.”

Exceptional treatment

Both YouTubers expressed that their favorite thing about the country is the people.

“I’ve tasted food, I’ve been to a thousand places and everything is very nice, but the warmth that a Dominican gives you here… I’ve never felt alone.” These were Waldi’s words, to which he continued, “I have audiences from all over the world, but the Dominican is different. Even if they have nothing, what they have they share.”

“I always say that Dominican is not the country, but the people who make it up,” said Estibito.

They said that things like the welcome, the food they are given, and the greeting have made them both feel comfortable and fortunate to be in the Dominican Republic.

“I have not met another person in this world like the Dominican,” concluded Waldi.