A Cuban resident in Spain listed in a video posted on TikTok the customs of the country that, according to her, she will never be able to adopt, ranging from the siesta to couples being away from home for weeks on end.
Lianna, known on the platform as @liannadice, shared a video last Sunday that lasted almost three minutes, in which she reviews six Spanish habits that clash directly with her Cuban identity.
The first item on the list is the siesta. "I think I haven't taken a siesta like the Spaniards say because I don't like it; I'm not used to it," she states in the video.
The second is bread. While the Spanish typically accompany it with almost any meal, Lianna replaces it with rice: "Since we Cubans eat a lot of rice, I don't include bread in my diet like the Spanish do."
The third point addresses life as a couple. In Spain, it is common for each person to pay their share of the bill when going out to eat, something that Lianna outright rejects: "For me, that doesn't exist, even though both can help each other."
The fourth habit she finds impossible to adopt is not showering daily when the temperature drops. "Here, it's very normal to feel cold and not shower. In my country, we shower every day, and I shower every day, and I believe it's something I will never do," she states.
The fifth habit is direct communication, and here Lianna clarifies: she acknowledges that it is a virtue, but she struggles to practice it. "We Cubans, and Latinos in general, don't express things directly like that. Here, in Spanish, if someone wants to tell you something, they will, and whether you like it or not doesn't matter. I see it as a really great quality, but I've had a hard time getting used to it."
The sixth and final point is the one that generates the most distrust for him: that his partner goes on vacation for a week or more with friends. "My partner can't be away from home for a week because it already smells like danger to me," he confesses, although he acknowledges that he has learned to value Spanish women's independence: "Here, women even go out alone to nightclubs; I love that way of thinking."
This type of content resonates with a well-established trend among the Cuban emigrant community in Spain, where creators humorously document their cultural clashes. In January, a Cuban in Galicia shared that after three years she still hadn't adapted to the cold or the late meal times. In April, another Cuban revealed the habits that give her away as a Latina in Spain, including sleeping with a fan and eating rice daily.
The phenomenon reflects a large-scale emigration: according to the National Institute of Statistics of Spain, by the end of 2024, there were 252,290 registered Cubans in the country, and during 2025, more than 35,200 new Cuban emigrants arrived, solidifying Spain as the main European destination for the island's diaspora.
Lianna closed the video inviting her followers to share their own adaptation difficulties: “Tell me, leave in the comments what you don’t like and which customs you find challenging when adapting here in Spain.”
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