A hug between a Cuban émigré and his father in Cuba moved over 105,900 people on TikTok and sparked a wave of collective emotion among the Cuban diaspora scattered around the world.
Jorge García, a TikTok user with the profile @jorgegarcia5642, published a 53-second video last Wednesday in which he reflects on the pain of Cubans in exile and the hope of being able to embrace their loved ones again.
"It has not been easy for Cubans in exile. It has not been easy," is heard in the clip, followed by a nostalgic sentence: "God must remember the Cubans, the children who want to see their mothers every day, the mothers who want to see their children every day, the grandparents who have died waiting for their grandchildren."
The video garnered 9,375 likes, 572 comments, and 146 shares, and its comments section quickly became a space for collective catharsis.
"I haven't seen my family in seven years, give them a big hug, they miss you, and there's nothing better than being with them," wrote a user.
Another person shared, "I haven't seen my mom and my family in seven years either."
One of the most heartbreaking comments said: "That was my dream: to be able to return and hug my father, but I have neither option. Sometimes I wonder if this sacrifice is worth it."
Another user confessed, "I suffer a lot, I cry in silence every night. I'm helping my daughter and grandchildren financially, but I miss them too much."
Jorge García responded to several messages with words of encouragement, and it was in one of those exchanges that a phrase appeared which encapsulates the feelings of thousands of emigrated Cubans: "There is no word or money that can buy what one feels."
In another response, he added: "There is no luxury, no amount of money that can compare to a single moment next to those you love."
The video is set against a backdrop of a sustained viral phenomenon of Cuban reunions that has flooded TikTok and Facebook during 2025 and 2026, driven by the largest migration exodus in the island's recent history.
Between 2020 and 2024, between 1.4 and 1.79 million Cubans left the country, and 38% of Cuban families currently have at least one member living abroad, according to data from the Cuban Foreign Ministry.
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