A Cuban resident in Arizona posted a TikTok video this Wednesday that has resonated within the emigrant community: a direct appeal to relatives on the island to appreciate the real sacrifice involved in sending them money from abroad.
The author, known on the platform as «Bichota De Cuba» (@ladayien), left Cuba in 1998 and has been living outside the island for nearly three decades. In a video lasting over four minutes, she breaks down with concrete numbers why a salary that seems high from Cuba quickly disappears in the United States.
"Here, at least where I live, in the state of Arizona, you will pay a minimum of $1,200 dollars for a one-bedroom apartment. You also have to add electricity, gas. You need to include insurance. If you have a car, you need to add the car payment, plus the car insurance, plus your life insurance, plus your health insurance. When you realize it, you end up with nothing left in your account," he explains in the video.
The message targets those who downplay these shipments: "The family over there doesn't want to see that. And let them come and say, send me this much, send me 500, send me 300, send me a thousand, as if that's nothing for you. Yes, it is. Yes, it is, and it's quite a lot."
The Cuban describes a reality that many emigrants recognize: working two or three jobs to be able to support their family, giving up vacations and cutting back on personal expenses, while some relatives on the island spend what they receive on parties without showing gratitude.
"Many people here don’t go on vacation, those immigrants who are here don’t take vacations because they help their families and they aren’t appreciated for it," he notes.
The author expresses having made a personal decision in response to that lack of recognition: "There are some people I said I wouldn't help again. Let them call me bad, let them call me stingy, let them say whatever they want. I have the right to live. I have the right to go on vacation because I am the one who is working."
The video addresses a tension that repeatedly appears on the social media of the Cuban community abroad: the gap between what seems to be “a lot” from Cuba and what is actually left after covering basic expenses in the U.S.
From the perspective of the emigrant, monthly expenses in the U.S. tell a different story: the total cost of living for a person in Phoenix exceeds $2,800 per month, according to data from 2026. Cubans in Miami send an average of $2,165 per year to their families, with a median of $1,200 annually, according to data cited by elToque.
This type of testimony, featuring Cuban women who explode against those asking for money from the island, has increased on TikTok since 2024, with voices from Miami, Spain, Arizona, and other locations demanding the same recognition.
"Develop a little awareness and be thankful if someone is helping you," concludes the video's creator.
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