A Cuban who lived 15 years in the United States and now resides in Spain posted a video on TikTok that summarizes, with a single comedic resource, what he feels about his former life in that country: absolute silence.
The creator, known as Mike The Explorer on the account @destino_wonderlands, posted a 21-second clip on April 11 in which he announces that he will reveal the three things he misses the most about the U.S. since moving to Spain.
"I'm Cuban living in Spain, and after having lived fifteen years in the United States, today I'm going to share the three things I miss the most about the United States," he says at the beginning of the video.
What follows is the twist that sparked the reactions: the creator remains completely silent, implying that he misses absolutely nothing and is thoroughly enjoying his new life in Spain, as confirmed by the video’s own description.
The comedic device — announcing a list and saying nothing — is a common formula on TikTok used to express that something simply does not exist, and in this case, the message resonated strongly within the Cuban community on the platform.
The video is tagged with #spain #barcelona #cubans #humortiktok, suggesting that the creator resides in Barcelona, one of the cities with the largest Cuban presence in Spain.
The testimony of Mike The Explorer is part of a growing trend among Cubans in the diaspora who compare life in the U.S. and in Spain. Several content creators have addressed the topic with similar conclusions: less work pressure, access to social security, and a work-life balance that many did not find in the U.S. market.
A Cuban identified as @alietty_livestyle, who lived for ten years in Gran Canaria before moving to the U.S., summed it up like this: "Living as a lower-class person in Spain and in the U.S. is not the same", noting that Spain offers a better quality of life despite lower wages.
Another Cuban who regrets being in Miami also publicly questioned whether the pressure of the American job market is worth it compared to the European experience.
The migration context amplifies the resonance of these videos. The cancellation of the CHNV humanitarian parole program by the Trump administration in 2025 left thousands of Cubans with uncertain immigration status in the U.S., pushing many to consider Europe as an alternative.
Spain has established itself as one of the main destinations for the Cuban diaspora. According to data from the Spanish National Institute of Statistics, 124,812 Cubans currently reside in the country, concentrated in the Canary Islands, Madrid, and Catalonia. Between 2022 and 2023, around 150,000 Cubans moved to Spain, many under the protection of the Law of Democratic Memory.
A recent survey among young Cubans regarding their preferred destinations places Spain alongside the U.S. and Brazil as the most valued options, suggesting that the "American dream" is increasingly competing with a European alternative that, at least for Mike The Explorer, leaves nothing to be desired.
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