"Here I've realized that we have loneliness. All of us who leave feel loneliness." With these words, a Cuban émigré who has lived away from the island for four years touched many on TikTok as she shared, almost in tears, how much she misses the warmth of her family, especially on significant dates like her birthday and Christmas.
The Cuban, identified on TikTok as @gladys.minov1, recorded the video after crying and decided to open her heart to share a reality that, as she explains, has marked her life since she emigrated.
"Today I am sitting here and I wanted to share something personal with you, and you may call me crazy, and you may ask me why I don't go back, why I left," the woman began, who currently lives with her husband and their three children.
The reason for her sadness was remembering what her birthdays were like when she lived in Cuba. Throughout her ten-year relationship with her husband, his family, especially his mother, grandmother, and aunts, always ensured that the date was transformed into a celebration full of affection.
"They were kisses, they were hugs," she recalled nostalgically. However, ever since she left the country, the celebrations have been very different. "I have always spent my birthday this way. I can say it like that. With no one. Just with my children and my husband," she confessed with a trembling voice.
The Cuban explained that her sadness is not related to the material conditions in which she lives. She is grateful to have food, to celebrate Christmas, and to spend time with her husband and children, but she acknowledges that there is something that no comfort can replace: the presence of her loved ones.
"Here I have realized that we have loneliness. All of us who go out have loneliness. It's incredible that we have everything, and I thank God for that, but we have loneliness," she expressed in one of the most emotional moments of the video shared on TikTok.
Nostalgia also arises when she thinks of the Christmas and New Year celebrations. Although her home is filled with food, sweets, and family moments, she misses the hugs, the gatherings, and the atmosphere she enjoyed when surrounded by her loved ones in Cuba.
It is not the first time that Gladys has publicly shared the pain of emigration. In May 2026, she published another heartbreaking testimony about how difficult it was for her to emotionally detach from Cuba, especially due to the loss of family members she could not say goodbye to.
His experience is reminiscent of other Cuban emigrants who have shared similar feelings on social media. In September 2026, Cuban Dean Pablo Hernández broke down in tears as he recalled that he had spent three birthdays without embracing his younger brother.
Months earlier, in April, a young Cuban living in Spain also cried when thinking about her birthday far from her family on the island. Similarly, in December 2025, Rosmery, a Cuban residing in Albacete, shared the sadness she felt during the holiday season away from her loved ones.
These stories take place against a backdrop of intense Cuban emigration. According to data published by Infobae in October 2026, Cuba recorded a negative migratory balance of 245,264 people in 2025, a figure that reflects the magnitude of the departures from the country.
At the end of her testimony, Gladys invited other Cubans living far from their homeland to share if they also experience that feeling of emptiness: "Let me know in the comments if you feel the same way and if you think like I do."
For this Cuban mother, having her husband and children by her side is a blessing, but that doesn't stop her from missing the hugs, celebrations, and affection of those who remain in Cuba.
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