The Cuban-American actress Eva Mendes posted a reel on her Instagram account last Tuesday that has already surpassed 609,000 views, in which she shares a hilarious anecdote featuring her Cuban mother, Eva Pérez Suárez, and the movie Rocky.
In the 28-second video, Mendes humorously describes how her mother wonders why Rocky, the character from the latest movie of her husband Ryan Gosling, Project Hail Mary, has neither eyes nor a face — apparently seeing a figure of a stone alien — which sparks the whole anecdote. The description of the reel, written in the actress's characteristic Spanglish, reads: "Mi Mami wondering why Rocky no tiene ojos or a face…".
In the recording, Mendes confesses: "I don’t know if other Cuban moms are like this, but when she watches a movie, you have to convince her." The phrase was left unfinished, but the comedic intent was more than evident to her followers.
The video gathered 54,842 likes and 1,309 comments in just a few days, many of them from women in the Cuban diaspora who immediately related to the scene. "Do we all have the same Cuban mom?" wrote one follower, summarizing the general sentiment.
This reel is part of a recurring pattern from the actress, who for years has shared humorous and emotional moments featuring her mother on social media. In 2018, Mendes described her on Instagram with three words: "Mother. Immigrant. Badass.". On another occasion, she called "the toughest and strongest woman I know", a "warrior" and a "survivor."
Eva Mendes was born on March 5, 1974 in Miami, Florida, daughter of Eva Pérez Suárez and Juan Carlos Méndez, both Cuban immigrants. She is the only one of her four siblings born in the United States. After her parents' divorce, she moved with her mother to the Silver Lake neighborhood in Los Angeles. The actress defines herself as someone completely Cuban and completely American.
The Cuban heritage is still very much present in his home with Ryan Gosling. His mother speaks Spanish to her granddaughters, Esmeralda Amada and Amada Lee, and cooks island food for them. In April 2024, when Gosling imitated a Cuban accent on Saturday Night Live, Mendes responded enthusiastically on Instagram: "Wow! My Cuban Papi made this Cuban Mami so happy with this!!".
The reel comes just two weeks after Gosling surprised Mendes on The Tonight Show to celebrate her 52nd birthday, a moment that also went viral. For Eva Mendes, however, the true star of her Instagram remains her Cuban mom, to whom she dedicated some heartfelt words on her 82nd birthday: "I love you, mom, you are my queen."
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