Alejandro left Cuba for love and now thrives as a mechanic in the chilly city of Bariloche, Argentina, embracing a new reality far from his island home. Born in Havana, he moved nearly a decade ago after meeting his partner, an Argentine studying at the University of Havana.
Alejandro, born in Havana's Diez de Octubre municipality, is one of the 1,200 Cubans living in Argentina up to 2020, specifically in San Carlos de Bariloche. This Patagonian city, surrounded by Lake Nahuel Huapi and the Andes, contrasts with the Caribbean through its cold climate and Swiss alpine-style architecture, stemming from European settlements that displaced the Mapuche people.
His migration was not for political reasons, but for love. "It wasn’t a political or social issue. I left because I fell in love," Alejandro explains. They met on July 26, 2015, at a popular dance-music concert in Havana. She, originally from Bariloche and studying at the University of Havana, shared two years of cohabitation before moving to Argentina in 2017, when he was 27.
In Cuba, Alejandro studied Mechanical Engineering at CUJAE but did not finish, preferring to work with engines, wood, and stone. "I like engines. I like being around metal. I’m also self-taught in painting," he confides. He learned mechanics from his uncle and cousin starting at age 13. Upon arriving in Argentina, he worked for the Austrian brand KTM AG and later opened his own workshop.
The Cuban community in Bariloche is dispersed: chemical engineering or biology students, tourism workers, and independent projects, without unified collective spaces. Alejandro discusses migratory grief and nostalgia but warns of its dangers. He quotes an Orishas song: "I know I left Cuba, but I know Cuba didn’t leave me." He loves his country and imagines old age there, though he avoids long-term plans.
He advises Cubans not to fear the cold; opportunities exist in tourism and science. He fights stereotypes that sexualize Cuban men. In his routine, he enjoys mate, coffee, and the lake's inspiration, adapting with Cuban resilience.
