There are flavors that have the power to transport us home, no matter how many kilometers separate us from it. This was demonstrated by a Cuban known on TikTok as Tico (@ticoerne), who couldn't contain his emotion upon receiving a package sent from Cuba by his mother, father, and aunt, filled with candies and products that reminded him of his childhood.
The young man, who has not seen his family for three years, shared a touching video on TikTok in which he displayed one by one the gifts that his loved ones had sent him: salt cookies, guava bars, ground peanuts, and his beloved milk creams.
"The most important thing is not the product itself, but that it comes with love, with that little scent of nostalgia, family, everything we left behind," she expressed as she opened the package.
Among the first products he showcased were some saltine crackers that, although they arrived broken, sparked his enthusiasm. But when he opened the guava bars, memories began to surface.
"Guava, sir, real guava. A scent of the countryside, the smell of earth," he commented excitedly, as he recalled those road trips to Villa Clara and the vendors who offered these sweets by the roadside.
The ground peanuts also went unnoticed and received one of the funniest reactions in the video: "This isn't ground peanuts, this is ground gold, guys. This is the best thing that's been invented."
However, the most touching moment came when he discovered the milk creams, his favorite treat since childhood. Knowing that his family had made the effort to send them, despite the distance, brought him to tears.
"I haven't seen them in three years and they know that what I love most in life are the milk creams, and with a lot of love, with a lot of effort..." he managed to say, visibly moved.
For Tico, those sweets represented much more than just a gift: they were memories of his childhood and a way to feel close to the people he misses so much.
Her story is reminiscent of other Cuban émigrés who have shared on social media the joy of receiving prepared foods or packages sent by their families from the island. In June, a Cuban resident in the United States showcased the items her mother had sent from Cuba, including pastries, honey, and peanut nougat.
Similarly, another Cuban thrilled social media by showing the roast pig and the roasted tail that her parents sent her from the island, a demonstration of how food can also become a way to express affection thousands of miles away.
Among the products that Tico received, some of the most traditional flavors of Cuban cuisine stand out. Guava bars, for example, are very well-known sweets on the island, although their high prices have caused outrage among Cubans. Creamy milk treats, on the other hand, are part of those homemade sweets that awaken so many memories among generations of Cubans.
The video also left room for humor. Towards the end, Tico joked with a line about the criticism some emigrants face when they share their passion for their country's cuisine: "One in ten Cubans suffers bullying for eating Cuban food."
But beyond the jokes, what truly affected his reaction was the affection behind each product. After three years without hugging his parents and his aunt, a few simple milk creams were enough to make him feel, if only for a moment, a little closer to home.
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