A Cuban TikToker went viral with a video in which she delivers a direct and humorous message to émigrés who flaunt luxury brands like Gucci or Prada, reminding them of the true brand that defined a generation on the island.
@dr.aloma posted a 34-second video on TikTok last Monday that quickly resonated with thousands of Cubans in the diaspora. With her characteristic Cuban humor, the creator straightforwardly addresses those who, in her opinion, seem to have forgotten their roots.
“Look at her pretending she migrated on a little paper boat, my loyal friend, and then she arrives here and tells you, ‘No, my favorite brand is Gucci, it’s Prada,’” the video begins.
The response from @dr.aloma is immediate and decisive: "Girl, since when? The favorite brand of the entire Cuban people has always been Tabacuba."
The reference to Tabacuba —the Cuban state brand of school supplies—immediately stirred nostalgia among its followers. The creator humorously recalls the almost legendary durability of those backpacks: “Mom, I want to write to that company to tell them what materials they used to make backpacks that lasted from preschool through tenth grade.”
The video also evokes lunchboxes and pioneer shoes, all marked with the seal of national production. "You went with a pioneer shoe, the backpack was Cuba and the lunchbox was Cuba," says @dr.aloma, using the colloquial expression "was Cuba" to refer to products made on the island.
The ending of the video ironically summarizes the paradox: "And you felt like you were the guerilla, the guerilla."
The expression "arrived on a paper boat" used by the creator is a direct reference to Cubans who emigrated under precarious conditions—on rafts or makeshift boats—and who now display a luxurious lifestyle, a contrast that Cuban humor on social media has turned into a recurring theme.
The childhood of several generations in Cuba was marked by state-made products: pioneer uniforms, standardized school supplies, and everyday items manufactured nationally or in the Soviet Union. Rather than being remembered as shortcomings, these items are part of a collective nostalgia that the diaspora reinterprets with pride and irony.
@dr.aloma is a regular creator of this type of content. In April, she published a video about the reasons to invite a Cuban to a party, which also resonated widely within the Cuban community abroad. Previously, a Cuban woman went viral by comparing Cuban perfumes to French fragrances, and another returned to social media with a haute couture video made with rice, in a trend that highlights the significance of humor and Cuban nostalgia on TikTok.
The video from @dr.aloma garnered 684 likes and 223 comments in the first few days, a sign that the message resonated deeply with those who grew up with a tobacco bag on their shoulder.
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