A Cuban expatriate identified as Carlos Sanz (@carlosanz1317) touched thousands of followers by posting a video on TikTok on Sunday, showcasing the moment he fulfilled his dream of gifting a car to his father in Cuba.
The 57-second clip shows a Cuban outdoor setting —blue sky, trees, and electric wires— with overlaid text in a yellow box: "I am fulfilling my dream of gifting a car to my father in Cuba." The audio accompanying the images is a Christian song with lyrics that say: "Pray even if you're afraid, pray even if you're crying, because heaven listens to broken hearts."
The spiritual tone of the video is intentional. Sanz also shared the phrase in his stories: "Helping those who haven't given their all is the greatest act of gratitude," which reinforces the emotional and filial nature of the gesture.
The video accumulated 23,500 views, 2,025 likes, and 141 comments in less than 24 hours, a response that reflects the symbolic significance of gifting a car in Cuba.
And the thing is, on the island, a vehicle is practically a luxury item that is out of reach for most people. The most basic models in the official 2025 catalogs start at 13,000 euros, while SUVs and electric vehicles exceed 54,000 euros, in a country where the average state salary is hardly equivalent to just a few dollars a month.
Additionally, the private importation of cars involves tariffs, commercial margins, and taxes that can increase the final cost by up to 60% over the original price. Since Decree 119/2024 from the Council of Ministers, any transfer of vehicles between private individuals must be formalized before a notary and settled through a bank.
The gesture by Sanz is part of a growing trend among the Cuban diaspora on TikTok. In February of this year, a Cuban surprised his mother in Cuba with a car during a video call; in June, a husband residing in the United States gifted a car to his wife in a video that garnered over 42,400 views.
The trend has deeper roots. In November 2025, the influencer Flor de Cuba sent a car to her family on the island from the United States, and in June of that same year, a Cuban woman gifted a truck to her father fulfilling a dream he had held since they lived on the island.
For the Cuban community abroad, these videos represent something more than a material gift: they are a tangible symbol of the migratory sacrifice and the filial love that does not waver in the face of distance or the hardships imposed by the dictatorship in Cuba.
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