It wasn’t a family. There were two. The Hernández and Moreno families, accompanied by their inseparable pets Panda and York, are the protagonists of a story that began as an end-of-year game and ended up becoming a viral phenomenon that crossed borders.
News Cali.
They built a cardboard airplane as a New Year’s omen, without imagining that this family game would end up leading them to fly on social networks and inspire thousands with a story of unity, creativity and shared dreams.
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It all started on December 24, when the minors of the house asked a simple but powerful question: “Why don’t we do something different this 31st?” For years, the tradition had been the same: going out for a walk with suitcases as a travel omen. This time they wanted to go further. They thought about flags, about symbols, until the idea literally took shape, to build an airplane.
The mission started when one of the aunts found the boxes of a refrigerator and a washing machine. Cardboard in hand, maximum creativity and one goal: to do something together. For four days, between laughter, cutting and gluing, the two families built a cardboard airplane inspired by Avianca. They were not looking for likes or virality; They were looking for union. And they achieved it.
On the night of December 31, at exactly midnight, they went out to the parking lot of their residential unit. That common space became their “airport.” There, under the curious gaze of the neighbors, the dreams took off: the cardboard plane taxied, the family boarded and the magic happened.
One of them recorded the moment and decided to upload the video online, labeling Avianca as a spontaneous, almost anecdotal gesture.
But the label did its thing. The video flew. It was shared throughout Colombia and then throughout the world. Messages, reactions, other people’s smiles that added to their own. And then came the unthinkable: the airline responded with a challenge.
Show up on January 6 at the Alfonso Bonilla Aragón Airport, eager to fly and ready for a surprise.
The families accepted without hesitation. In the midst of the excitement, they received the TuBarco Team in Cali and its director, Wilson Barco, to whom they told the entire experience. They appreciated every message, every image, every word sent to them by people they didn’t know but who, they say, “brought joy to their lives.” “We love you,” they repeated, with the same sincerity with which they built their plane.
Now, they count down the days until January 6th. They don’t know what the surprise will be, but they do have one thing clear: they will go wherever together. Because if this cardboard plane taught them anything, it is that you don’t need to take off from the ground to learn to fly. Sometimes all it takes is an idea, a united family and the courage to do something different.
