Iván Daniel Calás carries the traits of Generation Z in his DNA — connected to the internet, accustomed to cameras. But his life is also marked by his faith and the place where he was born. Being a Christian in totalitarian 21st-century Cuba adds challenges to the natural passage through adolescence and the first steps into adulthood.

Since the age of 15, Calás has been running Voice of Truth, one of the YouTube channels that posts conservative content with the largest number of followers on the island. Nothing I’ve said in the previous sentence is insignificant. It means, first of all, that he produces content with a philosophy diametrically opposed to the one officially accepted by the State; and that he films, edits, and uploads videos amidst massive power outages and instability in telecommunications services.

While leading young people in his Baptist church in Havana, Calás has become a kind of digital prophet who, riding the wave of the gradual penetration of the internet on the island, breaks the narrative that Castroism guards so carefully.

Here is my interview with Iván.

What is Voice of Truth? When and how was it born?

I grew up watching and using cameras. I liked recording and “experimenting” with computers. I was strongly influenced by the communication style of famous South American YouTubers. Some brothers suggested that I make “Christian videos” to reach young people, and with that goal, in 2017-2018, Voice of Truth was born, a young person reaching out to other young people. I was 15 years old.

Naturally, my character changed, and my faith grew. Living in Cuba is something “abnormal.” Let me explain: any young Christian content creator in America or Europe will never encounter the obstacles that one faces here, simply for making biblical statements. Talking about topics like abortion and sexuality is “dangerous,” because whether you like it or not, even if you do it from a biblical perspective, you are going against the state narrative. Gathering young people, whether through social media or in person, is “extremely dangerous” in Cuba.

Questioning laws (such as the 2019 Constitution or the 2022 Family Code) from “the Word of God” is not only dangerous, but also illegal, in light of, for example, Cuba’s Communication Law.

Is my content political? Not inherently. My goal is to tell my generation about Jesus Christ, but it’s difficult to be part of the church and look the other way.

What challenges does a young Christian face in Cuba today?

Being a Christian in Cuba is a challenge, or as Cubans say, a daily “struggle”... even more so as a young person. In the case of men, after finishing pre-university education, you face, in my opinion, the worst months or years of your life: Compulsory Military Service (SMO).

For many young Christians, shooting or even touching a firearm is dishonoring God. In the “green,” as the SMO is colloquially called, whether you’re Christian or not, you absolutely must fire at least two rounds of live ammunition.

In the first few weeks, I was subtly threatened. Then they said they were going to “screw me over” if I continued publishing material on my YouTube channel. They persistently asked me if I couldn’t just delete the channel.

During interrogations by Military Counterintelligence (CIM), they asked me why I talked about social issues, why I called myself “Voice of Truth,” suggesting that it implied everything else was a lie.

Some time later, they told the friends I had there that I was — pay attention to the language from the 1960s — the “ringleader” of a campaign against the Family Code (which was injecting gender ideology into the national legal framework); that they shouldn’t associate with me; that if I continued this campaign, I could go to a military court. Some of my “friends” distanced themselves because it was “dangerous,” because they didn’t want to go to a military court either.

Should believers be concerned about what happens under a totalitarian regime?

It’s important to understand that believers are diverse, and the theology and traditions that surround and inform them are also diverse. In Cuba, they have tried to teach us that Christians “don’t get involved in politics,” but thankfully, more and more denominations and leaders are rejecting this mistaken idea. Of course, the Christian’s struggle “is not against flesh and blood,” and I maintain this. There is a spiritual war going on, and we are not a political party.

However, that shouldn’t be an excuse to be indifferent to society; Jesus calls us to the exact opposite. The entire ministry of Jesus and the first Christians unfolded among people who suffered from — or benefited from — a system similar in some ways to the one we face. Jesus didn’t take up the sword, but neither did he bow down to Caesar.

There’s a special moment in the gospels where Jesus calls Herod a fox. An interesting question for Cuban Christians would be: Is doing that acceptable? No one will tell you it’s wrong, so is it wrong today? Something to think about.

On one of your recent birthdays, you received a summons from the political police.

Yes. On September 7, 2023, the same day I turned 20, I received a summons for an “interview” from the Department of State Security (the political police), which was actually an interrogation. They mocked me to my face, saying that allowing me to pray before starting was proof of religious freedom in Cuba, and they also made fun of summoning me on my birthday.

They were concerned about alleged relationships with a long list of pastors. My thesis is that the pastoral ministry and communication are, in my opinion, the biggest “threat” to them within the evangelical church. That is, if the pastors (adults and elders) unite with those involved in communication (mainly young people), they achieve a great capacity for mobilization.

That’s why, in very strange and clandestine ways, they have tried to fracture intergenerational relationships. But they cannot stop what the Spirit of God is doing by uniting the members of the church, regardless of their age.

The summary of that interrogation was a verbal threat, repeated several times, that I could go to prison if I spoke out against the authorities.

Through your art as a photographer and videographer, you have produced series like “Christmas in Cuba,” where you interview ordinary Cubans on the impoverished streets of Havana about life on the island. Why did you decide to make it?

The “Christmas in Havana” series has two purposes. First: to preach Christ by contextualizing through the heartbreaking reality of Cuba. Second: to make Cubans think. I believe that they have taken that away from us: the ability to think, to analyze, to pause and reflect, and to have our own opinions.

How do you think social media has helped sectors like the Christian community (marginalized from the centralized Cuban media system) find a way to express themselves?

Social media has been an alternative for the Cuban church, and the proof is in the numbers: almost all Christian content creators and churches that have been on social media for years have a huge reach. Social media has not only become a means of evangelism, but also a platform for showcasing the church’s social action and, in many cases, a communication channel for official announcements from different denominations.

We cannot forget that platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and X have allowed for direct reporting when a pastor or leader has needed media protection. There are countless examples.

Why should a future Cuba return to its history as a Christian nation?

We have been presented with an image of an atheist or syncretic Cuba, but that is not what Cuba was like before 1959.

Cuba was profoundly Catholic, and in the first half of the 20th century, the Protestant/evangelical community grew significantly. Cuba, which is more than “the grass beneath our feet,” as José Martí said, is its people, and Cubans need to recover something that was taken from them by Marxist doctrine: spirituality.

Cubans need Christ... and we are working towards that!