A young Cuban resident in Spain broke down in tears while being filmed for her birthday, unable to contain her nostalgia for her island. The video was posted this Thursday on TikTok by the user @juliofelix_99, and it captures the moment when someone asks her, "Why are you crying?" and she responds without hesitation: "Because I want to go to Cuba."
The young woman doesn't ask for gifts or celebrations. What she wishes for her birthday is to be with her family eating chicharrones, drinking Cristal beer, and enjoying a pool.
Two images—the chicharrones and the Cristal—condense for any Cuban something much larger: the afternoons in the neighborhood, the warmth of family, childhood, everything that was left behind upon emigrating.
The clip, lasting just thirty seconds, was published under the hashtags #cubanosenespaña and #cubanosporelmundo, and within a few hours, it garnered over 1,000 views and dozens of reactions.
This type of video has become a well-established trend on TikTok: Cubans abroad who cry for their families, for not being able to return, or for significant dates that make the distance feel even heavier.
The paradox is well-known and painful: thousands of Cubans emigrated in search of a better life, fleeing the economic crisis, blackouts, and shortages imposed by the dictatorship, but they carry the emotional weight of uprooting and family separation.
Birthdays, Christmas, or New Year's become particularly intense triggers for those who live far from their loved ones, moments when the distance is felt more acutely.
The Cuban community in Spain surpassed 287,000 registered members by the end of 2025, with over 35,200 arrivals in that year alone, making it one of the fastest-growing migrant communities in the country.
Madrid is home to approximately 40% of Cubans residing in Spain, followed by Catalonia, and many of them share on social media that emotional conflict between the life built abroad and the roots they left on the island.
Just three days before the video was released, Spain approved an extraordinary regularization of migrants that could benefit thousands of Cubans in irregular situations, a step that adds context to the current moment this community is experiencing.
But no regulation can erase the image of a young woman crying on her birthday because all she wants is to be in Cuba with her family, eating chicharrones and enjoying a Cristal by the edge of a pool.
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