A Cuban who lived in the United States for four years sparked hundreds of reactions on TikTok when she announced her permanent return to Cuba in a video that garnered thousands of views.
The creator, identified as Gómez (@labradayuni) on the platform, published the clip titled “My definitive return to Cuba after 4 years.” In the comments, the Cuban was straightforward about her reasons: “Not even if they pay me would I return to that so-called American dream, it’s not worth it, the years go by and we are not eternal, your children need you.”
Behind the decision lies a story marked by pain and loss.
Three months before the video, her grandmother passed away, whom she described as "my life." That blow made her fear losing her mother as well, who had been both "mother and father" to her since she lost her father at the age of six.
"I didn't want to come back and for her not to be here either," he wrote in response to a follower.
The creator also spoke about the peace she found upon returning: "I was reborn beside my family, I have such great happiness and immense tranquility, I have my home without worries about rent or payments, just the struggle for daily bread, but happy."
And she added, "My happiness is with my children, where I don't have to hide and no one can take them away from me."
The video struck a very sensitive chord among Cuban emigrants. A follower confessed that she suffers from "great depression from being away from my daughters" and that she also plans to return. The creator responded firmly: "Come back, my friend, I assure you that your children need nothing material, only the love and warmth of their mom."
Other users shared their own stories of separation. Someone, aged 51 in the U.S., wrote: "This dream is not worth it compared to those hugs," although they acknowledged that in Cuba "the blackouts will be abundant." A woman who has been away from the island for five years said she cries every day for having left her son there. Another user announced that they also plan to return in December.
Skeptical voices were not absent. Some recalled the harsh reality of the island—scarcity, blackouts, crisis—and questioned whether those who speak of "freedom" in Cuba "clearly do not live in Cuba."
This type of content has become a sustained trend on TikTok since 2025, where Cubans in the diaspora document returns, reunions, and reflections on emigration, at a time when U.S. immigration policy has tightened and the debate about the future of Cubans abroad intensifies.
Similar cases have sparked equally emotional debates, such as that of a Cuban who returned from the U.S. for her daughter or the reunion of a mother with her daughter after four years of separation, stories that continue to resonate strongly among Cubans in the diaspora.
The decision to stay or return remains one of the most painful and personal dilemmas for the Cuban community, a choice between the material opportunities abroad and the emotional cost of living far from those whom one loves most.
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