Cuban family moves forward in a town in Spain thanks to repopulation project

Thanks to a repopulation program for rural areas in Spain, a Cuban family has managed to settle in the town of Beteta, a Spanish municipality in the province of Cuenca.

Through the “Arraigo Project”, Osleidys and six members of his family arrived from Havana to that town since last January.

The Cuban confesses to the Spanish radio stationCOPE They found out about the program through a friend of their sister, and decided to contact the person who handles the project in Havana.

“As soon as we called, Arraigo's partner, who lives in Cuba, whose name is Roxana, answered us and called us. That is, they work in sessions. The first session they go to the house, he explains a little about what this project is about and that's how we moved forward until we were ready. Once we were ready, then we came here, to Spain," he told the aforementioned station.

Although she did not detail the waiting times, Osleidys seemed confident during the process, which she says she started for two fundamental reasons.

This great change of country is due first, to “know my grandfather's roots, which are Spanish. The other thing is due to country problems, which made it very difficult for us to coexist in Cuba., due to the political situation that is happening and everything is becoming more expensive. And we decided to make this decision to come and try here, in Spain."

Osleidys' grandfather moved to Cuba during the Spanish crisis. There he met his wife, with whom he had two daughters, one of them the mother of this Cuban who recently arrived in Beteta.

Regarding the change, he confessed that the climate affects him, although he assures that “it has been a little hard, but nothing that we cannot endure,” referring to the cold weather that abounds in the town, contrasting with the abundant heat of Cuba.

They also talked about job opportunities, although it is a longer process, because they require permits to apply. Currently, she works at a restaurant called La Hoz, while some of her relatives wait.

About the town, he states thatThe neighbors have adapted very well to their presence.. “For them it is also something different to have foreigners here. But nothing, they are very kind and help us as much as they can," he said.

"From the first moment the project welcomed us here, the mayor also waited for us in Beteta, we registered the next day. The city council works hand in hand with us, they are in charge of all the procedures for us, sending us an email, carrying out a process, everything is through the City Council," he says.

Recently,members of the Arraigo Project visited Havana “to dialogue with families of Spanish descendants, talking about the possibilities of returning to Spain.”

According to the data of theRegister of Spaniards Resident Abroad (PERE),More than 160,000 Spanish citizens lived in Cuba at the beginning of 2024.

However, the departure of Cubans to reside in Spain through city repopulation programs is apparently becoming more common.

A few weeks ago, it became known thatThe City Council of Lerma, in Spain, officially welcomed a Cuban family that was established in his community, thanks to a program of repopulation of rural areas.

The Lerma municipality belongs to the Burgos province, in the Autonomous Community of Castilla y León. The new Cuban family that will live there has five members.The town hall that welcomes them offers them school, work and housing, necessary conditions to start their new life in Spain..