A Cuban mother residing in the United States witnessed this Thursday, from a distance, one of the most awaited moments in her daughter's life: the celebration of her 15th birthday in Cuba. Unable to travel to the island due to her immigration status, she experienced the entire party through a video call, with tears in her eyes that she herself described as "of happiness."
The video, posted on TikTok by the account @delgadoyuna, shows the quinceañera dressed in a formal gown, wearing a crown and makeup, addressing her mother directly through the screen while performing the song Besos de cristal, which is very popular during these types of celebrations in Cuba.
“Mommy, I know you’re crying, I can feel it. Mommy, how much I love you. Mommy, do you like this dress they’ve put on me?” the young girl sings to her mother, who watches her with emotion from outside.
The lyrics of the song seem to have been written for that exact moment. "You think I look older, you think I seem different," the quinceañera continues, before reaching the verse that hurts the most: "If you ask God that everything goes well for me, I'm just praying that you don't leave."
In the video description, the mother wrote: "My tears are of happiness. My life. Mommy loves you very much. I'm not there, but your grandparents, tati, visi, and dad are."
The celebration was attended by family members in Cuba, but the mother was physically absent due to the restrictions imposed by the I-220A (Order of Release on Recognizance) document, which grants temporary freedom in U.S. territory to immigrants while they await their immigration hearing. Traveling to Cuba with that document carries the risk of being unable to return to the United States, forcing thousands of families into prolonged separations during the most important moments.
It is not the first time that a situation like this has moved the Cuban community on social media. In August 2025, another Cuban mother with an I-220A also attended her daughter's 15th birthday virtually from the United States, in a video that went viral with the text: "The most awaited day has arrived and mom is behind the camera because she is an I-220A."
Other documented cases include a husband who couldn’t travel to Cuba to see his sick mother and a mother who sent her son alone to the island to reunite with his grandmother in February 2026.
The quinceañera celebration is one of the most deeply rooted traditions in Cuba: it includes the waltz with the father, the change from flat shoes to heels, the giving of the last doll, and the preparation of the "aliñao." Cuban families save for years for this celebration, which continues even amid the energy crisis and shortages, as documented in recent videos from rural areas of Holguín.
TikTok has become the platform where these stories of transnational separation resonate and find solidarity. The video by @delgadoyuna has already garnered over 5,300 views and has sparked a wave of supportive messages among Cubans who see the same pain they have experienced or fear experiencing reflected on that bright screen.
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