A Cuban TikToker recently shed light on an often-overlooked chapter in the life of Jennifer Lopez: her visit to Cuba in January 1997. The actress traveled to Jaimanitas, Havana, to meet the family of her then-boyfriend, Cuban model Ojani Noa, whom she would marry just a month later.
Content creator JSant TV shared a video that quickly garnered over a million views, 70,500 likes, and more than five thousand shares. In the footage, the TikToker journeys to Jaimanitas, finds the yellow house where JLo stayed, and speaks with Ojani Noa's sister, who experienced those memorable days firsthand.
Their arrival was completely unexpected. The family anticipated receiving a New Year's package, but instead, Ojani and Jennifer showed up in person. "My brother was supposed to send a package for New Year's Eve on December 31st, but it turned out that the package was them," Ojani's sister explained in the video. She was outside with neighbors when someone informed her of her brother's arrival: "When I entered my house, Jennifer Lopez was sitting in the living room, having coffee with milk and bread because they had just come from the airport."
JLo stayed for ten days in Jaimanitas, a coastal community west of the Playa municipality. The purpose of her visit was clear: "They were going to get married on February 24, 1997, and she wanted to meet her future husband's family," Ojani's sister recounted, noting that her brother hadn't been able to return to Cuba for about seven years.
A Memorable Adventure in Jaimanitas
The most iconic moment of Lopez's stay was captured in a home video that later made rounds on the internet: Jennifer Lopez attempting to ride a Carpati motorcycle through the neighborhood streets. It was Ojani's sister who invited her for the ride. "That bike belongs to my dad, a Carpati, and I told her let's take a spin, and she immediately got on with me," she shared. The issue was that the bike kept stalling—"the only one who could ride it without it stalling was my dad"—so he had to push them. They barely covered a hundred meters before returning.
In January 1997, Lopez was an emerging actress, not yet the global superstar she is today. She had starred in four films, including Anaconda, but her breakthrough role was imminent: the biopic "Selena," about the Texan singer Selena Quintanilla, would premiere on March 21, 1997, weeks after her wedding and trip to Cuba. "She stayed here for ten days, and she wasn't that famous back then," Ojani's sister recalled.
Ojani's sister, who was 21 when she met Jennifer, showed the TikToker a photo album from that time and fondly remembered her: "It felt like she had been coming to Cuba all her life."
Ojani Noa and Jennifer Lopez wed on February 22, 1997, but their marriage lasted only 11 months, ending in divorce in 1998. Nearly three decades later, that cup of coffee in a Jaimanitas living room remains one of the most intimate and lesser-known episodes in the life of one of the world's most famous artists.
Jennifer Lopez's 1997 Cuba Visit: Key Insights
When did Jennifer Lopez visit Cuba?
Jennifer Lopez visited Cuba in January 1997 to meet the family of her then-boyfriend, Ojani Noa, before their marriage.
How long did Jennifer Lopez stay in Cuba?
She spent ten days in Jaimanitas, a coastal community in Havana.
What was the purpose of Jennifer Lopez's visit to Cuba?
The visit was to meet the family of her future husband, Ojani Noa, as they planned to marry in February 1997.