A young Cuban identified on TikTok as @nailet_000 became the centerpiece of an emotional gesture of national pride during her graduation ceremony in the United States: after receiving her diploma, she opened her gown to reveal the Cuban flag that she was wearing underneath and proudly displayed it to all those present.
The video, published last Friday with the description "And we did it" and the tags #cuba and #2026class, lasts only eight seconds, but contains a phrase rich in political and emotional significance.
“A bug means nothing to me what you think about seeing that people were killed here for raising a flag, that's why I carry it now,” says Nailet in the clip, in a statement that directly references the repression suffered by the Cuban people for expressing their national identity.
The words refer to episodes such as the historic protests of July 11, 2021 (11J), when thousands of Cubans took to the streets in more than 50 cities to protest against the regime. The government's response was brutal: at least one person deceased, more than 1,481 individuals deprived of liberty —including 57 minors— and 187 cases of enforced disappearances reported to the UN, according to organizations such as Cubalex, Justicia 11J, and Prisoners Defenders.
In that context, the Cuban flag, used by many protesters as a symbol of freedom, became an element of identity and resistance both within the island and in exile.
Nailet's gesture is not an isolated case. In June 2025, another young Cuban graduated in the U.S. wearing a stole of the Cuban flag that also went viral on TikTok.
That same month, a young Cuban-American graduated as a software engineer from the Gulf Coast University of Florida, proudly wearing a sash with the Cuban flag around his neck and dedicating his achievement to his immigrant parents.
In June 2024, another young Cuban graduated in Florida, proudly displaying his country's flag, a trend that reflects the deep identity connection the Cuban community in exile maintains with their homeland.
The video by Nailet accumulated over two million views, nearly 300,000 likes, and more than 4,400 shares in just a few days, becoming one of the most viral expressions of Cuban pride in recent years on that platform.
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