Cuban content creator Mariam Fraga Garcés, known on social media as Mary Fra, compared her newly obtained Mexican passport with the Cuban one she has carried for years and summed up the difference between the two documents with a phrase: "In terms of mobility and freedom, the difference is enormous."
In a video posted on YouTube, recorded at Playa Delfines, Cancún, the young naturalized Mexican showcased both passports and explained what it means for her to now have a document that allows her to travel to numerous destinations with significantly fewer prior procedures.
Mary Fra refers to the Mexican passport as her "little book of freedom," a phrase that not only alludes to its design or technology but also to the transformation it brings when considering a journey.
"For many years, for me, thinking about an international trip was not just about choosing a destination, buying a ticket, and leaving. First, I had to ask myself: Do Cubans need visas to travel to this country? Where do I apply for this visa? How much does it cost? Will they approve it for me?" he recounted.
Two very different documents
The contrast is also physically visible.
Mexico began issuing its electronic passport in 2021. The document features a contactless chip, a polycarbonate data page, and biometric and cryptographic elements designed to make counterfeiting more difficult. Mexican authorities have stated that it includes 57 security measures.
The Cuban passport, dark blue in color, features a much more conventional design and structure. When compared directly, Mary Fra points out that the quality in the Cuban document "feels inferior."
However, the decisive difference lies in the borders that each one allows to be crossed without prior visa application.
The Henley Passport Index, which measures international access without prior visa requirements and is updated periodically, ranks the Mexican passport with access to over 150 destinations without a prior visa, compared to fewer than 60 for the Cuban passport.
For Mary Fra, this translates into the possibility of traveling with a Mexican passport to destinations such as the Schengen Area countries or Japan without having to undergo a prior consular visa process.
With the Cuban document, on the other hand, many of those trips involve requesting a visa, gathering documents, demonstrating financial means, paying the corresponding fees, securing an appointment, and waiting for a decision.
The Mexican passport doesn't open all borders either
Mexican naturalization does not eliminate all immigration requirements.
Mexican citizens need a visa to travel to the United States. In the case of Canada, starting in 2024, most will need a visitor visa, although some may use an electronic travel authorization (eTA) if they are flying to the country and meet specific requirements, such as holding a valid non-immigrant U.S. visa or having had a Canadian visa within the last ten years.
The difference with the Cuban passport remains considerable, nonetheless, in terms of international mobility.
How much do the two passports cost?
In Mexico, the official fees for 2026 are 1,795 Mexican pesos for three years, 2,440 pesos for six years, and 4,280 pesos for ten years. There is also an option for one year for children under three years old.
As of 2023, the Cuban passport is valid for ten years for those over 16 years old, following the removal of the previous requirement to renew it every two years.
As of October 1, 2026, the issuance, renewal, or replacement at the Cuban consulates abroad costs 200 dollars or euros for those over 16 years old, according to Resolution 37/2026 of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Two passports and one identity
Mary Fra makes it clear that obtaining Mexican citizenship does not mean renouncing her Cuban heritage.
In fact, both documents will be retained. Cuba applies the principle of effective citizenship, which states that those who maintain Cuban citizenship must exercise that status to enter, stay, transit, and leave national territory.
The case of the creator adds to that of other Cubans who in recent years have publicly celebrated their Mexican naturalization. In 2025, for example, another young Cuban emigrant shared her naturalization document on social media.
For Mary Fra, however, the value of the new passport is not in changing who she is, but in the opportunities it now provides for her to move around.
"This passport, I want to make it clear, does not make me more important, does not make me smarter, does not make me more worthy than anyone else. I am still exactly the same person," she stated.
And he summed up the change with an idea that runs throughout the video: "What changed was the number of borders that I can now cross with fewer obstacles."
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