The Cuban Frank Aguilar Victorero posted a video on TikTok from the United States on Saturday in which, with "the sparrow perched," he wonders what his life would have been like if he had never left the island, and concludes that, despite the pain, he does not regret having emigrated.
In the nearly three-minute video, Aguilar Victorero describes "the sparrow" —a Cuban expression for nostalgia and migratory grief— as "the pain that tightens your chest when you miss your mom, your dad, your kids, the neighborhood, the corner where you grew up."
The reflection begins with a question that many Cuban emigrants have asked themselves: "What would my life be like if I had never emigrated? Surely, I would have many of my loved ones nearby today; I could hug them whenever I wanted, there wouldn't be any video calls to say I miss you, and I wouldn't have to count the days until I see them again."
But nostalgia does not erase the reasons that drove him to leave. "I remember the uncertainty, the hopelessness, the frustration of seeing that one works hard and makes no progress. I remember that love does not fill a plate of food, nor pay for medication, nor build a future," he states in the video.
Aguilar Victorero acknowledges that life in the U.S. has not been easy either: "Although this journey has been tough, even though I have worked to the point of exhaustion, and although I have lived in fear, with nights of uncertainty and a heart divided in two, God opened a door for me that millions of people dream of finding."
The paradox described is the same that thousands of Cubans abroad experience: a better material situation, but separated from those they love the most. "If I had stayed, maybe today I would be hugging more people, but I would also be watching my loved ones suffer much more without being able to do practically anything," he notes.
To conclude, he uses a metaphor that summarizes his decision: “That man who one day decided to emigrate was not a sparrow trapped in his cage. He preferred to fly. Even if the flight hurt. He chose to miss from afar rather than resign himself to not being able to change the fate of what he loves most.”
The testimony of Aguilar Victorero arrives at a time of unprecedented migration tightening for Cubans in the U.S. According to a report on the decline of residency for Cubans, the approvals for permanent residency have dropped by nearly 99% compared to previous years, and last June, over 1,600 Cubans received deportation orders in U.S. territory.
That climate of legal uncertainty amplifies the emotional weight of reflections like yours, which resonate with a community that has been living the same tension between belonging and the need to leave for years. Between 2021 and 2024, more than 850,000 Cubans arrived in the U.S. in what is considered the largest exodus in the history of the island.
"Today I have the sparrow on my shoulder, but I also have the peace of mind knowing that from here, even if it’s just with a little effort, I can help my loved ones live a bit better. And if the price of that love is missing them every day, then let the sparrow sing," concludes Aguilar Victorero.
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