A woman from Cuba, known on TikTok as La Pauty (@lapauty0), posted a nearly ten-minute video on April 8th where she staunchly defends Cuban "jineteras," includes herself in this group, and urges others not to judge women who left the island with a foreigner, without experiencing the poverty that drove them to do so.
"I'm going to raise my voice for the 'jineteras' because I'm one of them. I'm going to raise my voice for those of us who left Cuba with a 'yuma,' someone from another nationality," declares the creator at the beginning of the video, using the Cuban slang for Western foreigners.
La Pauty's narrative begins in her childhood and spares no details.
She recounts going to school with worn-out shoes, having to bring water with sugar and bread with oil as snacks while other girls had sodas and ham sandwiches, and being looked down upon by classmates and even rejected by a teacher when she offered her snack.
"Nobody talks about the pain of having to take a glass of water with sugar to school with a hard piece of bread from the store," she says in the video.
The Cuban woman also shares how she was mocked for not having deodorant or foot cream: "Still, no one mentions the looks you get when you smell bad under your arms because you don't have deodorant, not even the kind in a little box."
To La Pauty, those who criticize "jineteras" are precisely the ones who never experienced such deprivation.
"The people who talk like that are those whose mommy and daddy always brought the plate to the table every day, breakfast in bed," she points out, directly addressing those who had a childhood with access to items that are considered luxuries in Cuba.
Her main message is a call for empathy: "Only someone who's gone hungry knows what it's like to pick up a piece of bread from the trash," she asserts, adding that before judging a woman for her past, "first wash your mouth."
The discussion around "jineterismo" is a recurrent and polarizing topic on Cuban diaspora social media. The term became popular during the Special Period in the 1990s when the Soviet collapse deprived Cuba of its main subsidies, leading many women to form relationships with tourists as a means of survival.
In June 2025, another Cuban in the United States used the term virally but with a different twist, to describe family members on the island demanding luxuries from emigrants: "There comes a time when you become the tourist and they, the family, become the 'jinetera'."
La Pauty does not shy away from her history or her choices; instead, she embraces them as a rational response to the structural poverty imposed by the Cuban system for decades.
"I live my life today as I please," she states, emphasizing that everything she has achieved is due to her own efforts: "Everything I have is thanks to me, to myself, and anyone who knows me knows the heart I have."
The video concludes with a reflection on empathy that, according to the creator, should guide any judgment: "When I see a child in the conditions I once was in, before criticizing, I first take off what I have and give it to them if I can at that moment."
Understanding Cuba's 'Jineterismo' Phenomenon
What is 'jineterismo' in the context of Cuban society?
'Jineterismo' refers to the phenomenon in Cuba where individuals, often women, engage in relationships with tourists as a means of economic survival, particularly during the economic hardships of the 1990s.
Why did 'jineterismo' become prevalent in Cuba during the 1990s?
The collapse of the Soviet Union led to a significant loss of subsidies for Cuba, resulting in severe economic difficulties. Many women turned to relationships with tourists as a strategy to cope with poverty and provide for their families.
How does La Pauty address the criticism faced by 'jineteras'?
La Pauty calls for empathy and understanding, highlighting that critics often come from more privileged backgrounds and do not understand the desperation that drives women to become 'jineteras'.
What is the central message of La Pauty's video?
La Pauty's central message is one of empathy and self-reflection, urging people to understand the hardships faced by 'jineteras' before passing judgment and to recognize the resilience required to overcome such adversity.