A young Cuban who identifies as @el_nene.2003 on TikTok went viral on the social network after posting a call with a friend from Cuba asking for 200 dollars for the end of the year. The video sparked a flood of comments, laughter, and discussions about the experiences of many Cubans who have emigrated.
In the clip, you can hear the friend insisting while El Nene explains that he can't help him. The scene, which many thought was acted, elicited all kinds of reactions. “I hope this is acted,” commented one user, to which the young man replied without hesitation: “Not acted, message me privately so you can see how many messages I have like this.”
Opinions were divided, but most agreed on one thing: the request was excessive. “Saying that 200 is ridiculous, what madness!” wrote one follower. “People think that here you just pick money off the floor,” commented another. There were also those who identified with the situation: “I feel the same, they only write to you when they need something,” said a user.
In light of the controversy, El Nene uploaded a new video explaining his decision and shared an audio clip of his mother, who was asking him for exactly those 200 dollars, but to fix her hair. “It’s not that I'm stingy; it’s that there are priorities. I can’t tell my mom no, like if she wants to spend it on rum. For her, I would do anything,” he stated.
Her response changed the tone of the comments. “Mom is mom, you're thinking right,” wrote one user. “You are absolutely correct, the priority will always be your mom,” added another. Some joked about the amount: “$280 for hair? Wow," while others praised him for speaking from the heart. “That's how it should be, family first above everyone else,” summarized a follower.
In just a few days, the two videos of El Nene la Moda surpassed thousands of views and sparked a conversation well-known to many Cubans outside the island: the requests, the priorities, and that unbreakable bond with mothers. As one of the most applauded comments stated: “Friends come and go, but Mom... Mom is one in a million.”
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