Grandmother's Return to Cuba from the U.S. Ends in Regret: "Only Hunger and Need Await"

A TikTok video has touched the hearts of countless Cubans both on the island and abroad. The footage depicts an elderly woman seated in a car, gazing silently out the window, as her granddaughter writes a poignant message: “You have to live it to understand it.”

The creator of the video, user @maydi0413, shared that her grandmother chose to return to Cuba after spending some time in the United States. She longed for her home, her neighborhood, and her people. “We agreed to let her go back, and we almost lost her. Another month in Cuba and she wouldn’t have made it,” she stated in the video's description, which quickly went viral.

In another clip filmed during the journey, the elderly woman starkly summed up the reality she encountered upon her return. “In Cuba, there’s nothing but hunger, need, and people coming into your house asking for clothes or food. I no longer have the strength to deal with that,” she expressed.

Despite knowing it wasn't an easy decision, the family chose to honor her wishes. “To make her happy, we allowed her to return, but she came back very weakened. It was a painful experience and left us with a tremendous sense of guilt,” she remarked in the comments, where she received an outpouring of support and empathy.

Among the commenters, many shared similar experiences: parents and grandparents yearning to return, only to find a country they no longer recognize. “Emigration is so painful,” one woman wrote. “That grandmother returned with a broken heart,” another commented.

Mayo explained that she decided to share the video to prevent other families from going through the same ordeal. “I didn’t do it out of resentment, but out of love,” she clarified. “Sometimes the heart wants to go back, but reality reminds you why you left.” Her story captures the sentiments of an entire generation of Cubans: returning can be a dream... or a wound that aches again.