A Cuban resident in Miami contributed yesterday to the debate on identity of the diaspora on TikTok with a video in which she lists everything that sets her apart from the typical stereotype of her community while proudly claiming her Cuban identity.
The user @jucyvaldez shared a 33-second clip in which she repeats the phrase "I am Cuban and..." to list traits that distance her from the expected mold: she speaks softly, doesn't shout, doesn't like long nails with designs, doesn't wear clothing with exaggerated logos or flashy jewelry, and prefers classical music over reggaeton.
"I am Cuban and I live in Miami. I am Cuban and I speak softly. I am Cuban and I don’t shout. I am Cuban and I don’t like long nails with designs. I am Cuban and I don’t like clothing with exaggerated logos. I am Cuban and I don’t wear flashy jewelry, no many chains or many rings. I am Cuban and I don’t like reggaeton. I like classical music and I am very, very Cuban, proudly Cuban," she stated in the video.
The clip ends with an open question to its followers: "What kind of Cuban are you?", inviting the community to reflect on the diversity within the Cuban identity abroad.
The video from @jucyvaldez is part of an ongoing debate that has been active on TikTok for months. In January 2026, the user @katrinaalvarez05 popularized the trend I failed as a Cuban by stating, "I don't have gold, I don't drive a Mercedes, I don't like Bebeshito, and I don't live in Florida." The post generated mixed reactions: while many users responded with "I also failed as a Cuban" and "I join the club," others defended plurality with phrases like "Everyone lives as they want. Having veneers or living in Florida doesn't make you less Cuban."
That same month, the user @melissaarmass went viral defending her Cuban identity in response to criticism about her appearance. "I am Cuban. I speak Spanish fluently. I was raised in a Cuban family, with Cuban parties, Cuban traditions, Cuban culture. I am Cuban, period," she stated. Her video also included the testimony of a user who wrote: "I am white, with green eyes, and every time I speak, people say I don't look Cuban. Well, yes, I am, and I'm proud of it."
The debate is not limited to identity; it extends to fashion and consumption habits. On April 9, the influencer Teresa Creando Style sparked another controversy by criticizing five common trends among Cuban women: exaggerated false eyelashes, inappropriate use of lycra outside of sports contexts, excessively long hair extensions, certain hairstyles, and the excessive use of flashy accessories. Her video gathered over 18,500 views.
The phenomenon reflects a broader and ongoing debate within the Cuban community in Miami about what it means to be Cuban today: whether identity is defined by aesthetic and consumption markers — gold, luxury cars, long nails, reguetón — or if there is a more diverse and personal sense of Cubanness that cannot be confined to a single mold.
TikTok has become the main platform where the Cuban diaspora processes, asserts, and negotiates its cultural identity, and the video by @jucyvaldez, with its unanswered final question, leaves that same query open for thousands of Cubans living outside the island.
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