Cuban citizens Celina Fajardo, 74 years old, and Filiberto Padrón, 78, captured social media's attention once again this Sunday after BBC World Service highlighted their story and their infectious dance moves.
The couple, residents of Miami and known on social media as Ganas con Canas, appeared in a video shared by the BBC World Service, which garnered more than 11,000 views in just a few hours.
The BBC introduced Celina and Filiberto as a Cuban couple in their seventies who have become an internet sensation thanks to their dancing.
Behind their millions of followers lies a story that began precisely with dance. They met in Miami, in a ballroom, and have been married for 21 years.
Their arrival on social media was a matter of chance. An unfamiliar person recorded them dancing reggaeton in a casino in Miami and posted the video online. The footage garnered millions of views.
Celina and Filiberto were not even familiar with digital platforms at the time, but they decided to take advantage of the unexpected popularity and create their own accounts.
The name that would ultimately identify them also emerged spontaneously.
"My husband says, 'Let's put Ganas with Canas, because I have the desire, but she has the gray hair,'" recalled Celina.
Paradoxically, the reggaeton that made them viral wasn't even their favorite genre. They both prefer dancing salsa and merengue.
Since then, Ganas con Canas has accumulated more than two million followers, and the couple has turned dancing into a way to challenge the prejudices associated with age.
"Age is just a number. I feel like I'm 20 years old," Celina says to those who think they are "too old" to dance like they do.
Filiberto expresses it differently: "Dancing is something that makes me feel alive."
Their popularity has taken them far beyond social media. In 2018, they participated in America's Got Talent and in 2023 Osmani García shared a video of the couple dancing to "Summer Love," alongside Julian Marley, accompanied by the message "real love never expires." The moment was also covered by CiberCuba.
In May 2024, they won over the audience of the show "Guess What I'm Doing", on Telecinco in Spain.
More recently, in February 2026, they participated for the second time in Premio Lo Nuestro, where they danced during the performance of Maluma and Kany García with "1+1". In their first appearance at the event, they shared the stage with Will Smith, Thalía, and DJ Khaled.
After years of dancing together and a fame neither of them sought, Filiberto offers a simple piece of advice for those who think that age or lack of experience are reasons to stay seated:
"As I tell all the older people and the young: don't say you can't dance, have fun."
Filed under: