A Cuban known on TikTok as Belo (@elcaminodelbelo) posted a nearly two-minute video on Thursday where he humorously and directly lists four things that Cubans newly arrived in Spain should not do if they want to maintain their authenticity.
"This is a list of things you shouldn't do as a Cuban in Spain," Belo begins, who clarifies his intention in the video description: "Whenever I can advise my people, I always will."
The first point directly addresses language.
Belo gets irritated with those who, after just one or two months in the country, have already adopted the Peninsula vocabulary: “If you just arrived a month ago, two months ago, why do you say vale? Why do you say joder? Why do you say tío? Why do you say, oh, I really like that? You don’t really like anything. You like that.”
The second piece of advice concerns clothing, and Belo approaches it with empathy rather than criticism.
"I know that in Cuba the situation is very difficult when it comes to clothing because they don’t sell anything there, but if you’ve already gone through a lot to get out, come on, coordinate a little."
The proposed solution is simple: "Spend 30 pesos on some nice clothes, coordinate, and dress well. You can't walk around central Madrid all dressed up tight because that's not the style, my friend."
The third point dismantles a pose that, according to Belo, is quite common among newcomers: boasting about eating paella.
"Since when have you eaten seafood paella with shrimp? You go to the Chinese place, buy a small pot of rice, make your white rice, and eat it with your things," he points out, before finishing with a question repeated three times: "Paella? When have you eaten paella? When? When?"
The fourth recommendation is, according to Belo himself, "the one I like the most," and it features coffee as the star.
The critique is directed at those who order oat milk coffee, soy milk, or with saccharin—options that would be unthinkable in Cuba: "In Cuba, you would just have a simple espresso without sugar. Why are you being so particular about coffee here? Speak clearly, tell me."
The video contributes to a well-established genre on social media featuring Cubans sharing their adaptation experiences in Spain, where cultural clashes involving language, food, and customs are common themes.
That clash occurs in the context of massive emigration: according to the National Institute of Statistics, by the end of 2024, there were 252,290 Cuban nationals residing in Spain, compared to approximately 162,000 registered in 2020, a growth driven by the economic crisis, blackouts, and chronic shortages on the island.
Linguistic accommodation—adopting words or expressions from one's environment—is a natural process for any migrant, but when it occurs rapidly, it may be perceived as a detriment, which is precisely what Belo highlights at the core of his critique.
Other Cuban women in Spain have pointed out that maintaining a Cuban accent also comes with its costs: some have reported that calls to rent housing "cool off" as soon as the interlocutor hears their accent.
Filed under: