Leonardo Muñoz, a Cuban emigrant residing in the United States, shared a reel on Facebook in which he recounts how he went from working as a baker and street vendor in Cuba, without a home of his own, to building a stable life in the U.S. through hard work and patience.
In the video, Leonardo recalls his life on the island with stark honesty: “What are they going to tell me about capitalism and communism if I had no one in Cuba? I was a young boy, I worked as a baker, I sold garlic and onions, I sold little cakes on the streets. I didn’t even have a house to live in while I was in Cuba.”
The contrast with his current situation in the U.S. is the focal point of the testimony.
"I am an apple right now. I have my food, my car, internet 24/7, air conditioning, I rest two days a week, and I work Monday to Friday. What's the complaint, my brother?" he says with evident satisfaction.
Leonardo also directly points to the reality he left behind: "What are they going to tell me about Cuba when it’s a luxury to eat a tortilla with bread? Those people have nothing; they’re enduring 30 hours of blackouts. There’s nothing to seek over there."
His words reflect the energy situation that the island is experiencing. Cuba reports electric deficits of around 1,440 MW in 2026, with outages in some areas exceeding 20 hours a day. On March 16, 2026, a nationwide blackout occurred, leaving the entire island without service for nearly 30 hours.
Despite the nostalgia, Leonardo does not sugarcoat his diagnosis: "I feel sad speaking like this because that is my country; I am 100% proud to be Cuban, but that doesn't help, my brother."
The emigrant also recounts that he waited a year to obtain his permanent residency: "It happened for me and it will happen for everyone else because I believe we all deserve it, but little by little."
Its central message is a warning against impatience: "It's not that we arrived here wanting to act like we’re in a rush and wanting to have a Mercedes-Benz in a day. No, it's little by little. Here, everything is built from scratch, but step by step, everything will start to rise."
Leonardo's testimony is part of a widespread phenomenon within the Cuban community sharing their migration experiences on social media, sparking debate about the real opportunities that the U.S. offers in contrast to the challenges of the adaptation process.
This exodus is a response to a structural crisis that has deepened in recent years. It is estimated that more than one million Cubans left the island between 2021 and 2025, resulting in a demographic loss of between 10% and 18% of the population, driven by inflation, food shortages, blackouts, and political repression.
Leonardo ends his message with a promise and a call to action: “When you have been in this country for 10, 15, 20 years and you focus, you are a strong individual in this country, in the entire world. And if you strive to be a citizen, wherever you go, you are the biggest representative the world has produced.”
Filed under: