A Cuban resident in Spain published yesterday on TikTok an emotional message dedicated to all Cuban women who have had to emigrate, describing their sacrifice with a phrase that is already circulating in the diaspora community: pain disguised as a smile.
The video, one minute and 22 seconds long, was published by the user @yoanly.figueredo and starkly portrays the reality of thousands of Cuban women living abroad, far from their children and mothers.
"Asere, you see her laughing, dancing, adding flavor, and you don't know that inside she's broken, thinking of a child she left crying in Cuba, a mother who is aging without her in a house that is no longer her home," says the author in the video.
The message leaves no room for idealization: "That woman didn't leave for pleasure; she left because there is no life there, only survival."
The content creator also describes the conditions many of these women face upon arriving in Spain: "Here, they have to clean, endure, stay quiet, and resolve problems. Alone, without papers, without family, with no one to say, 'Don't worry, I'm here.'"
The emotional hardening that many observe in Cuban emigrants has, according to the author, a very specific explanation: "They become tough not because they want to, but because if they soften, they break completely."
"They learn not to trust anyone, not to love easily, to think first about getting ahead before considering their feelings," he adds, responding to those who criticize this change in character: "And you say he changed, of course he changed, my brother, life put pressure on him to the core."
The video concludes with an image that encapsulates the experience of an entire generation of Cuban women abroad: "The Cuban woman is not easy; she is a weary warrior with a heart torn between two countries. Even though she is here pushing forward, her mind and her pain continue to reside over there."
The testimony of @yoanly.figueredo reflects a documented reality: recent Cuban emigration has a marked feminization, with 133 women for every 100 male emigrants, representing 56-57% of the migration flow between 2021 and 2025, according to data from the United Nations.
Spain is one of the main destinations for this emigration. In 2025, at least 27,000 Cubans registered in the country, raising the total number of Cuban residents to over 160,000. Many of these women find employment in precarious sectors such as domestic work and caregiving for dependent individuals, facing bureaucratic barriers that prevent the recognition of their professional qualifications.
The Cuban influencer in Spain Yexela González expressed in November 2025 a sentiment that resonates with the video: Cuba took my childhood, which was not happy. It took the best years of my life, but if there is one thing I cannot give to Cuba, it is the childhood of my children.
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