In the streets of Havana, a taxi driver surprised several passengers by offering them free rides, challenging the daily economic precariousness. Safie M. Gonzalez, who had just left a physical therapy session, was one of the beneficiaries of this unexpected act of generosity. The gesture restored a bit of faith in humanity among Cubans.
Safie M. Gonzalez left the physical therapy room at a clinic in Havana, her body tired and mind clouded by medical routines and financial worries. Under a pitiless sun, she mentally counted the money in her wallet, aware that a collective taxi ride to visit someone important could leave her nearly broke. The precariousness of transportation in Cuba is a daily reality that breeds mute resignation, as Gonzalez recounts in her diary published on Havana Times on November 13, 2025.
Resigned, she raised her hand, and a spotless blue car stopped. The driver, a man of about 40 with a cap and serene smile, answered her price question with subversive words: “No charge.” Stunned, Gonzalez asked “Excuse me?,” and he repeated: “I said it’s free. Get in. I’m not going to charge you.”
Still distrustful, she settled into the back seat. At the next corner, the car stopped for a woman with a small child and two bulky bags asking the price to 'la Ceguera.' “Nothing,” the driver replied. “Get in.” The woman, paralyzed by surprise, exclaimed: “Seriously? God bless you!” as she boarded with her son.
The ritual repeated: a young man with a student's backpack and an old woman with a wheeled shopping cart joined the free ride. The car filled with passengers united by necessity and now by this act of crazy generosity. Inside reigned a strange, enchanted atmosphere of quiet communion; passengers whispered: “Who is this man? Why is he doing this?” There were no answers, only the pure fact of kindness, an endangered species in the Cuban ecosystem.
Gonzalez observed the driver's focused profile, carrying out his small personal revolution with naturalness, without seeking applause. Upon reaching her destination, she got out with relief greater than the saved pesos: the certainty that, in a 'every person for themselves' world, someone decided to help without expecting anything in return. The blue car vanished into avenue traffic, carrying hope to more amazed and grateful people.