Moises had never met his biological father, who was deported when the 32-year-old was a toddler. They had only a few phone conversations over the years. Moises recently flew to Santo Domingo to meet his father for the first time in a now-viral TikTok video that touched a lot of online viewers.
He told People, “I was excited. At the airport, his wife kind of had this whole plan to surprise him. He had no idea we were coming … When I had turned that corner, I didn’t really know how to respond, but it was a good feeling. I was excited.”
Moises remembers his mother telling him that he had only spoken to his father a few times as a child. However, when he was 18, his father added him on “Facebook, and we spoke here and there throughout the years.”
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Even still, having a father-son relationship that was limited to messaging on the internet seemed strange. So they made the most of their time together when they finally met.
Moises, a father of two daughters, went to meet his father after becoming a father himself. Since he struggles to communicate his feelings, he had to rely on his partner, Cheyenne, whom he refers to as his “crutch,” to plan the emotional reunion.
He explained that, “I think it’s like a mix of a few things, because I’m a father of two daughters now, and … he wanted to get to know them. So it was kind of one of those things where the opportunity presented itself, and it was like one of those ‘Why not?’ moments so I kind of just pulled the trigger and did it.”
Cheyenne, who captured the now-viral TikTok video, saw the massive surge of emotions that rushed over Moises.
“The overwhelming part that I noticed was the fact that they all knew and loved him because they had seen pictures and heard stories from his mother over the years,” she recounted.
“And so I think the overwhelming part for him was the fact that everybody else felt kind of attached to him already, but he didn’t know any of these people,” she added. “It was exciting, and it was cool to be surrounded by that much love for people that you don’t know, but it can be a lot.”
One of the many unexpected details of their reunion was hearing his dad’s voice for the very first time as an adult. “He was born in Haiti, but he was raised in Brooklyn, so he has a really thick Brooklyn, New York accent. And I was like, where did that come from?” Moises said.
“But then also looking at the similarities of our body and the different qualities that we share was really interesting … I have brothers that I’ve never got to meet, two little brothers. And that was really, that was really cool,” he observed.
Since meeting, they have had some time to catch up. Moises discovered that, like him, his father plays the piano and loves reading.
“He was a decorated boxer before he got deported, and I box. So we had no idea that we shared these common hobbies,” he said.
Cheyenne explained that sharing the moment on TikTok meant more than just becoming viral. “Seeing this and knowing that there’s so many people that could relate to a lot of people that have never met their bio parents,” she noted. “It was really cool to see how much hope it gave other people.”
After the reconnection, Moises also talked about how he now views life differently and how his sense of self and family have changed.
“I feel more reassured in myself,” he declared. “It’s one of those things that I didn’t think I knew I needed, but now that I’ve done it, I’m just extremely happy and grateful that I did.”
Now, their family’s bond continues to grow. “We FaceTime almost nightly now. And he’s been in with my daughters, too. It’s, it’s been cool. We’ve talked about planning other get-togethers,” Moises revealed.
