From Selling Tamales on the Streets to Opening Her Restaurant: Mima's Journey from Cuba to Mexico

A determined 63-year-old Cuban woman from the town of Amancio, located in Las Tunas, has built a traditional restaurant from the ground up in Mexico City. This feat comes after years of selling tamales on the streets at night, enduring a global pandemic, and steadfastly refusing to give up despite countless obstacles.

Her inspiring story, captured in a video by the restaurant Cachito de Cuba, reflects over a decade of perseverance in a foreign land.

Mima arrived in Mexico about 13 years ago, having previously worked as a store clerk in her hometown.

In 2016, she took her first humble steps into entrepreneurship by setting up a stand on a corner of Gran Sur, selling Cuban tamales at night.

“In 2016, I started selling tamales on the street, right there on the corner of Gran Sur. We would set up at night to sell,” she recalls.

Her venture was born even against the wishes of her own son. “My son didn’t want me to work, but I wanted to start a business and work,” she states candidly.

Initially, her small business was known on social media as "Mima Tamales Cubanos."

The customers she gained at that corner became her first support network. She began preparing meals from home with delivery service, and the enthusiastic response encouraged her to expand.

“People really liked my food and my own clients motivated me to grow,” she explains.

Three years after those late-night street sales, Mima officially opened her own restaurant, Cachito de Cuba, in 2019.

However, the pandemic soon struck, forcing her to close the restaurant.

Undeterred, Mima moved her operations home and continued cooking with the help of delivery apps.

“The pandemic hit, and we had to close. But I continued from home with delivery services through apps,” she elaborates.

Her culinary philosophy is straightforward: “I cook like I do at home, like I cook for my grandson, my son, my family.”

This warmth is what she believes has created a loyal customer base that has been with her since the days of street tamales.

“I treat my customers like family. Mexican clients who have really enjoyed my food,” she affirms.

The restaurant's name embodies its Cuban essence as much as its menu does: “The name Cachito de Cuba came about because we wanted to have a little corner of Cuban flavor here in Mexico City.”

Today, Cachito de Cuba operates in the Nuevo Bazar Pericoapa, Mexico City, offering a menu that includes ropa vieja, moros y cristianos, and fried pork chunks, open from Monday to Sunday —except Tuesdays— from noon to 11:00 p.m.

Mima's narrative is part of a broader trend among Cuban immigrants in Mexico, where traditional cuisine serves as both an economic venture and a means of preserving cultural identity. Many other Cuban entrepreneurs have followed similar paths, bridging two cultures with the island's flavors.

From Las Tunas, Mima's home province, a significant 11.5% of the population has emigrated over the past eight years, including about 12,000 people between 2023 and 2024. This silent exodus is emptying Cuban towns but enriching kitchens worldwide with unique flavors.

“Come and enjoy our food, you won’t regret it,” Mima declares at the end of the video, with the conviction of someone who knows that each dish carries years of struggle, imparting a taste that can’t be replicated.