A Cuban in Portugal broke the idealized narrative of emigration by posting a video on TikTok where she candidly describes what it means to arrive in a European country and start from scratch.
Dayana Alayon Marrero shared in mid-September her testimony titled "1 YEAR IN PORTUGAL: WHAT NO ONE TELLS YOU", a video just over two minutes long in which she contrasts the image that circulates on social media with the reality she has experienced during her first year in the Portuguese country.
"Many times we see on social media the beautiful side of migrating or the good things that come with it, but no one really tells you what lies behind it," Dayana warns at the beginning of the video.
For her, the experience can be summed up in one sentence: "Arriving in another country, especially as a Cuban, means starting practically from scratch."
This starting point involves, as described, learning to live with new customs, adapting to a different way of life, looking for employment, managing a different language, and understanding daily systems that are completely normal for the locals.
Dayana acknowledges that she had certain advantages in her journey, but she doesn’t downplay the challenges: "I’ve had to learn to get back up, I’ve had to learn to move forward, I’ve had to learn to make mistakes, I’ve had to learn to keep my head down and carry on even when I’m in a hole."
The video, which has accumulated nearly 4700 views and over 320 reactions, is the introduction to a series of content where it promises to tell "without filters" how they arrived in Portugal, why they emigrated, and what their daily life is like there.
Dayana's testimony is part of a Cuban exodus of historical proportions. According to official figures from the ONEI, 245,264 people left the island in 2025, while the total population stood at 9,434,593 inhabitants. In 2024, the number was 251,221 emigrants, and the total exodus since 2021 has exceeded one million people.
Portugal is not the main destination of this flow, but it does receive a part of it. At the end of 2024, the Portuguese country recorded 1,543,697 foreign residents, a historic high, according to the 2024 Migration and Asylum Report from the Agency for Integration, Migration, and Asylum (AIMA).
The experience of "starting from scratch" that Dayana describes is echoed in testimonies from other Cubans who have chosen Portugal as their destination. A Cuban resident in Porto recounted in 2025 how he arrived with a tourist visa and had been in the country for more than two and a half years when he shared his work routine. Another Cuban, Mariana Masvidal, successfully opened her own clothing store in Porto as an example of migrant entrepreneurship.
Other testimonies from Cubans in Portugal have also reflected the difficulties of starting from scratch and adapting to a new reality.
Dayana ends her video with a message that sums up the philosophy that has supported her throughout this year: "When you are determined to move forward, you gradually find your way."
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