A Cuban woman was in for the surprise of her life when she found Novatropín on the shelves of a Walmart in the United States, and her shocked reaction went viral on TikTok last Thursday.
The content creator known as Laurent (@lau_elisa222) posted the video with wide eyes and her hand covering her mouth, in front of the health product shelves in the store, with the text "I FOUND THIS AT WALMART" overlaid on the screen.
"The go-to snack for all Cuban children," said the TikToker in the clip, adding: "Who didn't sneak this out of the freezer behind their mom's back?"
The video, lasting only 13 seconds, garnered over 172,300 views, 7,435 likes, and 3,248 shares, striking a deeply nostalgic chord in the Cuban community in exile.
Novatropín is a syrup produced by the Cuban pharmaceutical industry with methylbromide homatropine as its active ingredient, indicated for treating cough, colds, and nasal congestion in children over two years of age.
Its sweet flavor and refrigerated presentation turned it into an "improvised treat" for generations of Cuban children, especially during the Special Period (1991-2000), when sweets were scarce and syrup was one of the few pleasures available in the family fridge.
The phenomenon is not new. In September 2024, the Cuban TikTok user known as "Cubana del Pijama Rosa" had already gone viral with a video recalling how children would take "buchos" of the syrup as a substitute for sweets, generating over 300 comments with similar anecdotes.
On that occasion, the comments also revealed the real risks of that habit: "I took both bottles [of Novatropín and Benadrilina], straight to the hospital," wrote one user. Another added: "My cousin took an entire bottle; he can't take it for life."
Homatropine methylbromide in overdose can cause tachycardia, hallucinations, and seizures, although the collective memory of Cuban childhood tends to preserve the most endearing aspects of that custom.
What stands out in Laurent's finding is that Novatropín is available at Walmart, a major retail chain, suggesting that the growing Cuban and Latino community in the United States creates enough demand for the product to be marketed there.
The pattern frequently repeats on TikTok: Cuban exiles visiting Walmart for the first time or finding products from their childhood in American stores feature videos that evoke an immediate emotional response within the diaspora.
Similar reactions have also been documented from Cuban women who find island products in markets in Mexico, indicating a broader phenomenon of collective nostalgia that transcends borders.
Novatropin continues to be included in Cuba's Basic Medicine Chart for 2024, as reported by Radio Angulo in February of that year, although its availability on the island is becoming increasingly irregular due to the supply crisis affecting the healthcare system.
Filed under: