Cuban Influencer Shares Journey to Miami: "I Spent 18 Days Locked in a Room in That Country"

Irina Tamayo, a Cuban influencer boasting over 260,000 followers on Instagram, recently opened up about her journey to the United States, where she has now settled in Miami. Her story was featured on the YouTube channel Básico Stream, where she detailed the challenges she faced following the July 11, 2021, protests in Cuba.

Tamayo recounted how, after the demonstrations on the island, the authorities began to identify participants via social media, leading to a wave of detentions. "I was just at home at 4:00 PM when the police arrived, and I opened the door," she said. Although she wasn't arrested, she was informed that she was under criminal investigation and was not to attempt leaving the country.

Despite the police warning, Tamayo was determined to leave and acted swiftly. With no available flights to Mexico, the country for which she had a visa, she started exploring other possibilities. "I called the travel agent, and he said, 'Irina, I only have flights to Russia.' So, I decided to go to Russia," she recounted, leaving for Moscow the next day.

In Moscow, she spent 18 days confined to a room, unable to proceed to Mexico due to ongoing COVID travel restrictions. When she finally managed to fly, Russian authorities questioned her exit, asking, "What is a Cuban doing in Russia to fly to Mexico?" She humorously added, "And to top it off, my name is Russian." Despite the hiccups, she reached Mexico City and then crossed into the United States at the Mexicali border. "There, on the bridge, I turned myself in. I said, 'Hello, I am Cuban,' and requested political asylum."

Currently, the influencer resides in Miami, where she continues to engage her audience on social media. However, she remains mindful of the repression that forced her to leave Cuba and her time in Moscow—a cold city where many Cubans still live in small rooms, dreaming of the American dream.