About Us
BALSEROS: The Idea
“BALSEROS” wasn’t born overnight; it was something that simmered on a Miami couch, where a newly arrived Cuban was experiencing a culture shock even stronger than the one felt in 1492 when Columbus “discovered” America—coincidentally through Cuba.
How do you explain the Cuba phenomenon to a French person?
Even worse, how do you explain it without speaking English?
To make a long story short, all roads led me not to Rome, but to a term every Cuban born in the last 65 years has grown up hearing: BALSEROS.
But what is a balsero (rafter)?
BALSEROS: From Collective Definition to Personal Interpretation
One might think it's simply a noun describing someone who has emigrated on a raft, or an adjective referring to certain behaviors or clothing. But being a balsero goes far beyond the way you arrived in the land of opportunity. It is a feeling that has spread and taken root anywhere in the world where there is a Cuban—which, at this point, is virtually everywhere.
On one hand, it represents the hopelessness, desperation, and repression to which Cubans have been subjected since the establishment of the Castro dictatorship. It speaks to being forced to take to the sea, entrust yourself to fate, believe that the Virgin of Regla will accompany you, and row, row, row… leaving behind your childhood, your family, your culture, your career. Ahead lies only the sea, a thirst for freedom, the hope of reaching the other shore, and the satisfaction that even if you don’t make it, at least you died trying.
On the other hand, it reveals the purest of human instincts: the desire to be free, and the immense drive to move forward and prosper without a murderous government that prohibits all forms of critical and creative thought.
BALSEROS: The Feeling
The term balsero no longer merely describes the thousands of Cubans who took to the sea fleeing the communist dictatorship that took power in 1959. It has become the symbol of an entire nation divided between rafters (those of us who escaped) and hostages of the regime (those who were left behind).
It was those first brave souls who paved the way for millions of Cubans to find in this country—the United States of America—and in our capital outside of Cuba, Miami, the safe harbor where we could anchor our rafts, both literally and symbolically.
BALSEROS: The Tribute
BALSEROS is a tribute to the brave men and women who decided to leave everything behind, risk their lives in search of freedom and a better future, and start over in this blessed land that, for decades, has welcomed us with open arms and invited us to contribute to its development as a nation of immigrants.
On that enchanting island in the middle of the Caribbean Sea, the key to the Gulf, internationally renowned figures were born and raised. Figures who have put Cuba on the world map for decades: our Apostle José Martí, our charanga singer Celia Cruz, our conga singer Gloria Estefan, and many others who have raised their voices for the freedom of the Cuban people through art—like Camila Cabello, Pitbull, and Gente de Zona—; through politics—like María Elvira Salazar, Mario Díaz-Balart, and Marco Rubio—; and from countless other spheres of society.
Because that's what we balseros are: hardworking people who fled a dictatorship poised to conquer the world. People who, through enormous sacrifice, have built successful careers and businesses from scratch. A people as free as the wind and as strong as the waves.
BALSEROS: The Cause
A noble cause drives this entire endeavor: helping the people of Cuba with medicine, food, and essential items distributed by BALSEROS ambassadors, who ensure that aid reaches every corner of the island.
We do not donate “from afar” or through opaque organizations. These are trusted individuals, close to us and present on the ground, who deliver assistance directly—hand to hand—to those who need it most.
Each purchase is not just a garment; it is an act of solidarity.