A viral TikTok video featuring a Mexican married to a Cuban has reignited the debate—humorously—about the cultural differences between the two countries, this time focusing on the way Cubans speak.
The recording, published by the user @yenicofino, shows the couple in their bed, engaging in a relaxed conversation where she asks him what he thinks about how Cubans speak. His response sparked laughter: "Oh, you Cubans don't talk, you shout. You just spend all your time shouting because you don't know how to talk."
Amid laughter, she retorts that sometimes she doesn't understand what he says and has to ask him to "turn it up a bit" because he speaks too softly, to which he replies, "Well, that's because we talk softly... not like you all who shout and shout."
The climax comes when he mocks the way certain words are pronounced on the island: “And what’s this ‘calol’ all about? Everything with an L.”
The post has generated thousands of comments on TikTok, where Cubans, Mexicans, and users from other countries joined the discussion with their own anecdotes and plenty of humor.
"I am Cuban, and sometimes even I tell my husband to lower his voice," confessed one user. Another wrote: "We don't shout; we speak with passion, using our diaphragm, as it should be."
Some comments defended the idea that not all Cubans speak the same way, and that the use of "L" instead of "R" is more common in specific areas like Havana or eastern Cuba. Others, however, graciously embraced the stereotype: "We come from an island with a breeze; if we don’t shout, we won’t be heard."
Responses also came from Mexico: “My Cuban husband shouts so much that the neighbors think we’re fighting,” a Guatemalan woman reported. “I’ve already picked up the yelling,” another one said.
It's not the first time this couple has become a trend on social media. In a previous video, the Mexican complained about Cuban white rice: “I’m fed up with white rice, learn to make another kind of rice.” That post generated a strong response from defenders of the island's cuisine.
The way Cubans speak has been the subject of viral comments on more than one occasion. In December 2024, a young Venezuelan responded to the criticism for wanting to "speak like a Cuban," but far from retracting, she proudly defended her choice: “I will continue to learn just the same.”
Both cases illustrate how Cuban popular language has become a cultural phenomenon that generates both admiration and controversy, especially when viewed from the outside with a mix of curiosity, affection, and stereotypes.
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