The Cuban Daniel González Collazo, 20 years old, finishes his shift as a barber in Las Vegas, but he doesn't put away his tools: he places a portable chair, a cape, and his scissors in his car, and heads out to find homeless individuals to offer them free haircuts and provide them with clothes, shoes, or food.
"I always bring my chair, my cape, everything in the car. Literally, as soon as I finish, I head out," the young man shared in a report from Telemundo Las Vegas, which followed one of his days as part of the "Sowing Hope" initiative.
Daniel arrived in the United States from Cuba when he was 13 years old and started working as a barber at 16. He currently shares the trade with his father and brother at Big Cut barber shop, continuing a family tradition.
"I continue this tradition; for me, it is a source of pride," he stated.
But behind his charitable initiative is also the experience of having grown up in Cuba.
"I come from Cuba, a country where there is total misery. Where I had a little, and if you didn’t have any, I would share that little bit, even if it was something trivial," he recalled.
For Daniel, helping does not depend on having large resources.
"It's something that came from within me. One doesn’t need to have a lot to be able to help others," he explained.
During the tour accompanied by Telemundo, he met Francis, a man who, according to the report, had been living on the streets with his father for two years and claimed he had not eaten for two days.
Daniel cut his hair and gave him clothes and food.
Beyond the change in appearance, the young man asserts that those minutes in the chair often become an opportunity to listen to those who live on the streets.
"I like it when they smile. When I cut their hair, it's as if they step out of their world and start talking to me; they share their stories," he said.
The story generated numerous messages of recognition on social media, many of which came from Cubans who highlighted both the act of solidarity and the young man's Cuban roots.
"Daniel, you embody the best of Cubans, kindness. Blessings, young man," wrote a user. Another internet user summarized: "Cubans like this represent us," while several comments referred to him as "Cuban pride."
Among the responses was one from a user who claimed to know the family from Cuba. "They are from my neighborhood in Cuba, I saw him and his brother grow up. His father was my barber since I was a child," wrote Jorge Carlos Durán Fonseca, reinforcing the family story that Daniel shared with Telemundo.
The report was published during Hispanic Heritage Month, which is celebrated from September 15 to October 15, a period dedicated to recognizing the contributions of the Latino community to American society.
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