A Cuban emigrant has been away from the island for almost four years and decided to respond on TikTok to a narrative that often circulates on social media: that when emigrants return to Cuba for the first time, "they will smell a stench from everyone," and that after three days, they want to return to their country of residence.
The creator, identified as @mihogaractivo, outright rejects that experience. "I went to Cuba, I didn't have that experience," she asserts in the video. "When I went, I felt like I hadn't left."
Her daughters accompanied her on the trip and did not express any complaints. What she clearly describes is what she felt when reuniting with her loved ones: "What I felt was the warmth of my friends. The warmth of my family."
The woman contextualizes her testimony with personal details. She describes her family as humble and small, having never possessed wealth, but considers them fortunate for another reason: "They are millionaires because they have health right now."
When she arrived in Cuba, her mother was ill with chikungunya, the virus she refers to as "chiquingulla." Despite direct contact, she did not get infected. Chikungunya, transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, seriously affected Cuba between July 2025 and early 2026, with over 163,000 cases reported by the Pan American Health Organization and at least 46 confirmed deaths.
The most touching moment he recounts is not related to material conditions, but rather to a hug. "Imagine that I was able to give a hug that should have lasted forever to my aunt, who raised my mother. She was like my grandmother, the person who was always there for me," he says. That aunt passed away the day before Mother's Day. Being able to say goodbye to her during that visit is, for the creator, what he remembers most about his return.
The Cuban also defends her decision to work abroad to support her family on the island, in the face of criticism. "It is also true that one has to return because if we don’t work here, how are we going to support our loved ones there? Let those who want to criticize me do so," she states.
Her situation is not exceptional. Since 2021, more than a million Cubans have emigrated, leaving families fragmented with separations lasting between two and four years. TikTok has become the space where the diaspora processes this collective pain, with reunion videos that gather hundreds of thousands of views.
The debate raised in his video is not new. Other emigrants have described experiences contrary to returning: the impact of the deteriorating healthcare system, accumulated garbage, sewage issues, and unsanitary conditions. A Cuban in the United States warned in June 2025 that those with a conscience should not visit Cuba, pointing out the precariousness of the healthcare system and the shortage of medicines.
The creator concludes her video by inviting those who have had that experience to share it: "What am I going to feel? Nothing foul or anything. I don't know. Leave me a comment if you have felt it too, if you've been to Cuba and have sensed anything foul."
Filed under: