Cuban couple left emotional during first visit to COSTCO after escaping Communist home nation

A Cuban couple who escaped their poverty-stricken communist homeland were left overwhelmed during their very first visit to an American Costco.

Marissa and Yoel Diaz, who are now living in Arizona, have documented their new life in the US on their TikTok account, @yoelandmari, which has racked up nearly half a million followers.

Marissa and Yoel grew up as family friends on the same street west of Havana. Yoel arrived in the US in 2021 on a K1 visa and is now a US citizen. 

In an interview with Fox News Digital, the couple opened up about their journey and the emotional shock of their first Costco run.

'It's impressive. It's beautiful,' Yoel told the outlet.

'We Cubans love the meat.'

Yoel, who was a computer science teacher in Cuba, said he felt lightheaded stepping into the massive store for the first time.

The idea of simply walking down an aisle packed with food options was only something he'd seen in American movies.

The idea of simply walking down an aisle packed with food options was only something Yoel (pictured) had seen in American movies 

A Cuban couple, Marissa and Yoel Diaz, who escaped their poverty-stricken communist homeland were left overwhelmed during their very first visit to an American Costco

Marissa described the difference in growing up and shopping in markets in Cuba. 

She recalled the reality of grocery shopping in their home country - where options were scarce and essential items were never guaranteed. 

'In Cuba, the [median] salary is around $40 a month, so you have to choose [very carefully] what you're going to buy,' she said.

'Those who get paid in Cuban pesos don't have access to the dollar stores. They have to go to a bodega — which is very limited with what you can get.'

She said it's impossible to rely on stores for even basic products like butter.

Cubans even use WhatsApp group chats to keep tabs on which stores might have essentials.

'It's not like in the United States, where you never have to think about if there's going to be butter in the grocery store or not,' Marissa said.

'That's what it's like being in Cuba - but all the time.'

In an interview with Fox News Digital, the couple opened up about their journey and the emotional shock of their first Costco run

Now Yoel is legal US resident after arriving on a K-1 fiancé visa in 2021. He said his first paycheck from UPS in 2022 was a life-changing moment 

Yoel shared a photo of a Cuban meat market 

Marissa and Yoel grew up as family friends on the same street west of Havana

She said the only thing she could compare it to is the Covid-19 pandemic when certain items across the country were limited and shelves were bare.

He said his first paycheck from UPS in 2022 was a life-changing moment .

'This country has given me the opportunity to be a human,' he said.