Ana de Armas turned 38 on April 30 and celebrated surrounded by loved ones in Madrid. She shared the party on her Instagram profile, featuring a notable photo with her brother, the Cuban photographer and activist Javier Caso.
The Spanish capital, which has become one of its European headquarters, was the setting for an intimate celebration that the actress born in Santa Cruz del Norte, Havana, wanted to share with her followers.
But among all the moments of the celebration, the image alongside Javier Caso carried the most symbolic weight.
Javier, based in New York, is known for his work as a photographer and audiovisual filmmaker, as well as for his activism against the Cuban dictatorship. His Facebook profile (although inactive for years) carries an unambiguous message: "No more kidnappings and imprisonments. No more torture. No more deaths. No more dictatorship."
In January 2020, during a visit to Havana, State Security agents interrogated him at a MININT facility and warned him to stop associating with actress Lynn Cruz and filmmaker Miguel Coyula, independent artists monitored by the regime. "If you travel frequently and visit Lynn, you could be someone who brings her financing, and that worries us," the agents told him. Javier recorded the interrogation in audio, which was edited and made publicly available.
In May 2021, Javier Caso went on a hunger and thirst strike in solidarity with Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, coordinator of the San Isidro Movement. On May 2, he ended the thirst strike after learning about the hospitalization of the activist, but maintained the hunger strike: "Since I do not trust the regime's statement, I will continue my hunger strike until reliable sources provide evidence of life and proof of his health status," he declared at that time.
This photo of Ana with her brother comes after one of the most turbulent years of her public life.
At the end of 2024, the actress was photographed in Madrid alongside Manuel Anido Cuesta, the stepson of Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel and son of First Lady Lis Cuesta Peraza. The couple was seen dining at luxury restaurants, strolling through the streets of the Spanish capital, and traveling together to Gstaad, Switzerland, which sparked a strong reaction from the Cuban community in exile, accusing her of legitimizing the regime. At the 2025 Oscars, she was labeled a "communist" on social media.
Starting in March 2025, the couple stopped making public appearances. That same month, Ana was photographed in London with Tom Cruise, sparking romance rumors that she did not confirm or deny: "I have nothing to say," she responded when approached about it. The romance lasted approximately nine months and ended in October 2025.
Today, having just turned 38 and with the filming of Sweat —a psychological drama where she plays a fitness influencer— underway since March 30, Ana de Armas appears to have found in Madrid, and in the company of her brother, a familial anchor away from the media noise that has characterized the last few months of her career.
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