Seidy La Niña returned to Miami this Thursday after more than a week in Cuba, her first visit to the island in seven years, and shared from the airport an emotional message about her reunion with family that she summed up in one sentence: "There is no feeling in the world that compares to returning to where you were born and seeing your loved ones again."
The singer, based in Miami, traveled to Cuba and spent over a week on the island, where she reunited with her grandmother, uncles, and friends in Guanabacoa. From the outset, the trip was marked by mixed feelings: upon arrival, she confessed that her heart ached because her grandfather, who always welcomed her at the door of the house, had already passed away.
"Seven and a half years without going to Cuba, without stepping on my land, without seeing my family," said the artist in the reel recorded upon her arrival at Miami airport, visibly emotional.
Despite acknowledging the difficult situation on the island, Seidy described the experience as deeply rewarding: "Being with my family, spending time with my people, bringing a little joy to them, feeling that genuine, sincere, organic warmth fills me, recharges me, fills me with happiness."
One day before departing, the artist posted an emotional farewell to her grandmother, uncles, and friends on Instagram. "It's impossible not to feel a bit sad because time goes by and doesn't forgive. I carry the love of my family in my heart," she wrote, making it clear that it was not a final goodbye: "This is not goodbye; this is see you soon. Because soon, very soon, I WILL RETURN."
He reaffirmed that promise emphatically upon arriving in Miami: "As long as I have life, as long as my family is here, I will return. Oh, and I won't discuss it with anyone."
The visit was not without controversy. During her stay, Seidy poked fun at the devaluation of the Cuban peso by displaying a bundle of 70,000 pesos —equivalent to barely around 105 dollars at the informal exchange rate— and sarcastically remarking: "With that, you can buy a ton of things. You’re a millionaire!".
The music video she filmed in a Havana neighborhood surrounded by residents also sparked divided reactions, with some users on social media labeling it as "bread and circuses", accusing the artist of downplaying the reality of blackouts, shortages, and repression that the Cuban people are enduring.
Among the most emotional moments of the journey was her visit to Guanabacoa, where she had to get out of the car in the middle of the street because locals recognized her and came over to greet her.
"Even with the situation being so difficult, I feel happy and recharged to have returned to my homeland," the singer wrote, summarizing her experience on this trip to Cuba.
Filed under: