A young Cuban woman known on TikTok as Dayi (@dayi35218) celebrated this Monday the purchase of her first car in Brazil after reaching 300,000 followers on that social media platform, just four months after moving to the country, in a video filmed in the rain and with visible emotion.
"I've been in Brazil for four months now, and thanks to the interaction from my last video and all the followers who joined, I managed to reach about 300,000 followers. Look at this, my little cart," Dayi said in the clip, where he couldn't hide his joy.
The content creator attributes the surge in her digital community to a previous video that went viral and brought her a massive influx of new followers in a short time.
"A madness. I achieved one of the biggest dreams I have always had, and I hope that community continues to grow," he expressed.
At the end of the video, Dayi hinted that she would reveal something else upon arriving home, creating anticipation among her followers. The hashtags accompanying the post include #carronuevo.
"I am extremely grateful. Yes, it is possible, sir, yes it is possible," she asserted in a message that resonated among her followers as a symbol of migrant resilience.
The case of Dayi fits into a growing phenomenon: that of Cubans who emigrate to Brazil and build digital communities from abroad, using TikTok to document their daily lives, their challenges, and their progress. Another Cuban creator, @anitalacubana7, summarized the appeal of the country in May 2026 with a phrase that went viral: "Brazil is a Cuba but with light, water, and food".
Brazil has become one of the main migration destinations for Cubans. In 2025, Cubans surpassed Venezuelans as the nationality with the most asylum requests in that country, with 41,919 requests, representing an 88.1% increase compared to 2024, according to data published in June 2026 by the Brazilian media outlet G1.
It is estimated that between 100,000 and 150,000 Cubans currently reside in Brazil, with Curitiba and São Paulo being the main destinations. The most common route passes through Guyana and French Guiana—countries that do not require visas for Cubans—to enter Brazilian territory through the state of Roraima.
In May 2026, thousands of Cubans redirected their migration path to Brazil due to the closure of legal avenues to the United States under the Trump administration, further accelerating the growth of that community in the South American country.
The Cuban Alfredo Castellanos JR, known as the Bad Bunny lookalike who reunited with his parents in Brazil, is another recent example of how social media amplifies the stories of Cubans in that country.
Dayi's video garnered 12,200 views, 647 likes, and 116 comments in just a few days, with messages of support from a community that has closely followed his journey since he arrived in Brazil.
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