DELAND — Iranis De La Torre remembers the hunger she felt at 5 years old when she and her family fled Cuba during the Mariel boatlift in 1980.
It's a feeling she can't help but reflect on as an unprecedented number of people in Cuba have taken to the streets in protest of the oppressive government amid shortages of food, medical supplies and other basic necessities.
"They’re saying Cubans are so hungry that they ate their fear and now they’re fearless," De La Torre said.
The 46-year-old was one of more than two dozen people who came out at 5 p.m. Wednesday to Chicas Cuban Cafe, 215 S. Woodland Blvd., in a show of solidarity with those suffering back on the island.