The images of hundreds of Cubans sleeping on the street in front of the Spanish visa center in Havana reminded Alicia Gorospe, a Spanish lawyer, of her grandmother's story: a woman who had to leave Cuba in the late fifties after the regime shot her husband.
The story, shared in an Instagram reel, moved thousands of people and sparked a discussion about the wounds that the Cuban exile has been inflicting on families for nearly seven decades.
Gorospe's grandfather was a ship captain and sailed routes between Cuba and Miami. During those journeys, he would pick up people he found adrift in small boats.
"Until one day the Cuban government went to kill him. They shot him, and that made my grandparents decide to leave Cuba," the lawyer recounts in the video.
His grandmother, also named Alicia, left behind her home on one of the best streets in Havana. But the material loss was the least of it. "The worst part wasn't losing that house; it was that she lost her mother," Gorospe says.
The grandmother had lost her father and her brother at a very young age, making her mother the closest person she had. She never saw her again.
The news of his death reached her by letter. “Imagine finding out this way that the person you love most in the world has passed away, without being able to hug them one last time, without being able to say goodbye,” says Gorospe, her voice shaking.
Grandma Alicia also did not have a long life: she passed away from cancer at the age of 52.
The video emerged following the collapse of the new Visa Application Center for Spain in Miramar, which was inaugurated on October 5 on Avenue 31 in Havana.
Between October 26 and 30, the center sent emails authorizing individuals to come within the same week without specifying a day or time, which led to hundreds of people —some arriving from other provinces— gathering simultaneously in front of the building, sleeping for up to three days on the street surrounded by trash. Only about 100 requests were processed.
The Consulate General of Spain announced the reassignment of appointments and assured that those affected would not lose their turn.
The demand is extraordinary: over 287,000 Cubans are registered in Spain at the beginning of 2026, and the consulate has warned that securing an appointment may take months.
Gorospe connects this contemporary exodus with the exile of nearly seven decades ago. "When I see so many Cubans trying to obtain a visa to leave their country, I can't help but think of all the personal stories behind it, the homes that are left behind, the families that are torn apart, and the people who sometimes never meet again," he reflects.
“Behind every person who migrates, there is always a story that deserves to be told,” concluded Gorospe.
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