Laura Pausini unleashed a wave of excitement among Cubans in the diaspora by performing "Hoy" —the song made famous by Gloria Estefan— during a concert in Florida, as part of her "Io Canto World Tour 2026".
The trending video, posted on TikTok by the user @sl1789m, became a trigger of nostalgia and tears among Cubans who recognized in the song something much deeper than just a melody: the accumulated pain of decades of exile.
The song "Hoy" was originally composed by the Peruvian artist Gian Marco Zignago in 2002 as a nostalgic ode to Peru. However, when Gloria Estefan — a Cuban-American whose family left the Island after the triumph of the Revolution in 1959 — recorded it for her album "Unwrapped" (2003), the piece took on a different dimension for the Cuban community: that of an impossible reunion, forced separation, and the hope of returning.
Pausini recorded her own version of "Hoy" for her album "Yo Canto 2" and included it as the 27th song in her current tour, which in May visited cities with a high concentration of Cuban-Americans: Miami, Orlando, and Grand Prairie, Texas.
The comments on the video left no doubt about the emotional impact of the moment.
"That song resonates with all Cubans," wrote one user. "God, that song reaches your bones, long live Cuba," added another. "That song makes me cry every time I hear it," confessed a third. And another user summed it up in three words: "I miss you, Cuba."
Others thanked the Italian singer directly: "Thank you so much, Laura, for dedicating your time to my Cuba," wrote a user.
The relationship between Pausini and Cuba, as well as her Cuban fans, has a long history. In June 2018, she performed in Havana alongside Gente de Zona in front of more than 250,000 people, describing the moment as the fulfillment of a 25-year dream. However, that concert sparked considerable controversy among exiles due to the presence of Miguel Díaz-Canel in the front row, and Pausini had to publicly address accusations of legitimizing the regime in 2022.
In July 2020, during the pandemic, she called a fan in Cuba and publicly thanked the Cuban doctors who had helped in Italy.
In March 2024, at a concert in Miami, she responded to the chorus of Cubans in the audience with a phrase that went viral: "Incredible moment, absolutely incredible".
On May 16th, during his concert in Miami —on his 52nd birthday— he invited Camila Cabello, a Cuban-American who emigrated from the Island as a child, to join him on stage to sing "Víveme." In that same show, he included a nod to "Nuestro día ya viene llegando" by Willy Chirino, the anthem of the Cuban exile.
The act of singing "Hoy" before an audience with a strong Cuban presence in Florida reignited the emotional connection that the Italian artist has built with the diaspora over the years, and for many Cubans, it goes far beyond music: it is the acknowledgment of a pain that, as one of her followers wrote, they have carried since 1959.
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