A Cuban woman residing in the United States moved thousands of people on TikTok by sharing her story of resilience since arriving in the country in 1999, responding firmly to those who judge her for posting videos on social media.
Iliana Terzaghi published at the beginning of August a testimony of just over a minute in which she reviews the difficulties she faced since arriving in this country: an abusive husband, a one-and-a-half-year-old son, no family nearby, and the need to ride a bicycle to work because she didn't have a car.
"I arrived in this country in 1999 when things weren't as easy as they are now," Iliana recounts in the video, recorded with the naturalness and sincerity that characterize her profile.
The year he arrived coincided with one of the most precarious periods for Cuban émigrés, marked by the aftermath of the so-called "Special Period" that followed the Soviet collapse. Many Cubans reached U.S. territory without money, without a support network, and with uncertainty about their future.
Iliana was no exception. She worked in whatever came her way, as long as it was honest, in her own words: "I have had to work in anything, whatever appears, as long as it is honest. I have done everything."
Economic hardships were compounded by irreparable losses. Her grandmother, who raised her, passed away a year and a half after Iliana arrived in the United States, and she was unable to see her one last time. Over time, she also lost her grandfather, her mother, and her brother, and she could not attend the funeral of any of them.
"I had to bury my grandfather, my mother, my brother, all my loved ones, and just endure it, because that's the life of an emigrant," he says in the video, describing one of the most painful and recurring experiences among Cubans living abroad.
That forced separation —the inability to return to Cuba to say goodbye to loved ones— is the most powerful emotional core of their story, and it resonates strongly with those who have experienced similar situations.
Iliana shares that her life changed positively a few years ago: "A few years back, my life changed, thank God, my life changed." However, the video wasn't created out of nostalgia, but rather as a direct response to those who ask her if she feels "ashamed" to make videos on TikTok.
His response was emphatic: "What shame am I supposed to feel? I felt shame riding my bike to work. I felt shame not having money to buy food. I felt shame not being able to bury my loved ones. That is what truly made me feel shame, my friend. Making TikTok videos doesn’t make me feel shame."
Iliana's testimony is part of a well-established trend among Cuban emigrants who share stories of resilience on social media, defying external judgment and affirming the migrant's efforts in the face of comments that question their choices or dignity.
Other Cuban women have starred in similar viral moments by responding to criticism with the same blend of pride and honesty that defines Iliana's video, whose message can be summed up in a few words: anyone who has experienced what she has, has nothing to be ashamed of.
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