A Cuban identified as Edelsy became the unwitting star of one of the most talked-about videos of the week on TikTok after something struck him from beneath the water while he was asking for Yemayá's blessing during a live broadcast from a beach.
The clip published on June 18 by the account @edelsy81 has garnered over 321,600 views, nearly 10,000 likes, and more than 4,500 shares, figures that reflect the immediate impact the scene had among Cuban users of the platform.
Edelsy was in the sea, praying and asking for protection from Yemayá— the orisha of the sea in Cuban santería— when suddenly something struck him forcefully from below the water, not once but twice in succession.
The reaction was immediate and unfiltered: he shot towards the shore, shouting and cursing, convinced that it was a shark.
"Oh, damn, what a scare that was! Dude, it didn't bite me! It slipped like that hard on both feet! And it hit me again and again!" he exclaimed, visibly terrified in front of the camera of his mobile phone, which continued to stream the entire episode live.
Once on the shore, Edelsy couldn't believe what he had just experienced: "The scare I just had, damn it, I've never been so scared in my life," he said, before adding with resignation, "I might as well not wash under bridges; I don't deserve to bathe at the beach."
It was never clear which animal was responsible for the scare. He insisted it was a shark, but there’s no way to confirm that. According to his description, "it was something large" that hit his feet with force. In South Florida, the presence of the tarpon is quite common, a large silver fish that is often mistaken for sharks due to its size and movement.
What was clear is that the man was alone in that part of the beach at that moment, which made his solitary, high-speed escape towards the shore even more striking.
The religious aspect of the video did not go unnoticed among the followers. In the comments, Cuban users responded with humor: many pointed out that it was "the first time they've seen such a quick response from Yemayá" to a request, turning the scare into a joke about the orisha's effectiveness.
The practice of worshiping Yemayá directly in the sea is a deeply rooted tradition among Cubans, both on the island and in the diaspora. Her followers often enter the water to pray and seek protection, bringing offerings of white flowers, shells, candles, and blue and white fabrics.
This episode is not the first of its kind in the summer of 2026. In early June, another viral video captured panic among swimmers in Miami Beach as what appeared to be a shark swam among the crowd, in an equally chaotic scene.
Experts point out that the greater presence of marine animals during warm months is completely normal and rarely poses a real danger to swimmers, although it can be hard to remember that when something large brushes against your feet in open waters.
Edelsy concluded her broadcast with a phrase that perfectly summarizes what she experienced: "In the end, it didn't affect me at all; it was something significant that shocked me..."
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