The Cuban actress and presenter Camila Arteche posted a video on TikTok last Saturday, in which she bids farewell to her car as part of a conscious detachment exercise, and the clip quickly became a viral moment that resonated with thousands of followers.
In the one minute and 28 seconds video, Arteche drives his car for the last time while speaking directly to the camera. He affectionately named the vehicle "Mushu", in reference to the little guardian dragon from the Disney movie Mulan (1998), known for his loyalty and protective role.
"I am practicing conscious detachment. I will do this exercise alongside you. This is the last time I will drive my car," declared the actress at the beginning of the clip.
Arteche thanked the vehicle for accompanying her during tough times. "Mushu is the name of Mulan's dragon. Before I let it go, yes, I want to thank you for everything. It protected me during the time it was with me. Thank you for supporting me through many very challenging moments in my life," she expressed with evident emotion.
The Cuban woman recalled having meditated in the car while driving, having taken her mother and friends out for a ride, and having cried in it while she lived near the beach and took down the convertible top. "I cried here when I lived by the beach. I was taking down the top. Whew, I was crying," she shared.
The reflective tone of the video also gave way to a humorous moment at the end, when Arteche discovered that he didn’t have the car key with him: "I don’t have my key! Ha ha ha ha. You have it!", he exclaimed amid laughter.
The actress, a graduate of the National School of Arts (ENA) in Cuba and known for hosting the reality show Bailando en Cuba, turned the sale of her car into a metaphor about letting go of what one loves to make room for the new. "I have a deep love for this car, but somehow I feel it's like an analogy for the things we love greatly and need to let go of," she reflected.
The video accumulated over 135,600 views, 10,700 likes, and 128 comments in just a few days, with followers who fully identified with the emotional attachment to material objects, especially vehicles. The video was produced weeks after Arteche posted a message from Puerto Rico wishing for "a Cuba of abundance, sovereignty, and full of freedom," and after launching a solidarity campaign to raise funds for her nine-year-old cousin, Christine Barzaga, who is facing advanced cancer with metastasis.
"I hope that whoever buys him will take care of him with the same love that I treated him with, and that he will continue to protect him as well as he protected me," was the wish with which Arteche said goodbye to her beloved Mushu.
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