A Cuban residing in South Carolina couldn't hide her excitement upon visiting Miami and stumbling upon products that are hard to find in her home state. Mabele Padilla, known on TikTok as @mabeleameliapadil, documented her journey through a Presidente supermarket, sharing her experience in a video that captured the attention of many users on the platform.
"I'm visiting a Presidente supermarket, a store that we don't have back where I live in Carolina. Let's see what we can take home that we can't find there," the Cuban woman remarked at the beginning of her video. As she explored the aisles, she highlighted a variety of traditional Cuban products: nougats, torticas, pre-packaged beans, juices in every flavor, guava jam, pork lard, coquito, and even blood sausage.
With palpable excitement, she exclaimed, "Oh my God, there are such delicious things here!" while picking out her purchases. Beaming, she displayed her haul at the end of the video, commenting, "All I can say is I love the goodies here. It's the best shopping I've done. I got so many things I needed, things you can't find over there."
The Cuban woman wrapped up her video with a phrase familiar to many Cubans living in Miami: "Miami is Miami, and everything else is just grassland."
The post received responses from Cubans living in other states and countries, who expressed their longing for products from their homeland. Comments included, "Did you notice the price of malanga?? Here in Houston, it's almost unaffordable," "For this and many other reasons, Miami is the best in this country," "How delicious masareal is. I'm a Cuban living in the Dominican Republic, and there are no Cuban sweets. I'm crazy for guava pastries, I miss them so much!" and "Miami is Miami."
These kinds of videos highlight how Miami serves as a nostalgic haven for Cubans searching for a taste of their homeland while in exile.
The Cuban Nostalgia in Miami
Why do Cubans find Miami a nostalgic haven?
Miami offers a wide array of Cuban products and cultural experiences that remind Cubans of their homeland, making it feel like a piece of home away from home.
What Cuban products are hard to find outside Miami?
Traditional Cuban products such as nougats, torticas, guava jam, and various Cuban sweets are often challenging to locate outside Miami, where a large Cuban community ensures their availability.