In a direct appeal to the Cuban people's sense of humour, the White House has released a video of President Barack Obama joking with the country's most famous comedian a day before the president makes a historic trip to the island.
Luis Silva plays Panfilo, an elderly character on a wildly popular show that often uses biting humour to comment on social reality and lampoon the failings of Cuba's government and centrally planned economy.
The video released on Saturday shows Panfilo calling the White House to find out the weather for a baseball game during Obama's trip to Cuba. Obama answers and banters with Panfilo, using Cuban slang to say "Panfilo! Get outta here! What's going on?"
It wasn't immediately clear if Cuban TV would show the video.
