Gusano (or fem. gusana) (lit. worm) is a pejorative term used to refer to Cubans who fled Cuba following the rise of Fidel Castro after the Cuban Revolution. The term also has connotations referring to class, with the word being used to insinuate that someone aspired to protect their wealth from redistribution following the rise of Socialism in Cuba. Origins Cuba experienced several waves of immigration after the revolution, with political dissidents and wealthy Cubans leaving in the first waves during the 1960s. By the 1990s, many poorer Cubans left due to economic stagnation, especially following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Out of these exiles, the first waves of exiles in the 1960s first bore the term gusano. By the 1960s and 1970s, Castro and his supporters had widely adopted the term in speeches and discussion to refer to Cubans that have fled the country, as well as the Cubans that applied to leave. The term supposedly originated in a 1961 speech that Castro gave where he discussed "shaking the tree until the worms fall out", in reference to the counter-revolutionaries. Many chants would evolve from the phrase, such as "Con saya o pantalon, gusanos al paredon." (If wearing skirts or if wearing pants, gusanos will [turn and face] the wall [to be executed]). To a lesser extent, many Cubans who stayed in the country, but were against the revolution, adopted the label as a badge of honor, referring to themselves as gusano or gusana. Usage in post-revolution Cuba In the 1960s, the Cuban state-run newspaper, Revolución, had a daily column which featured political cartoons that featured drawings of worms, paired with a list of activities of Cubans in exile. In response, many self-identified gusanos bought and sold keyrings with worms on them to demonstrate pride in the label. The military fort, Castillo del Príncipe, was used in the 1960s to house political prisoners of Castro that had been captured. Their wives would frequent the establishment in hopes to see their husbands and sons, and due to the large amount of anti-revolutionary women loitering around, the prison became colloquially known as La Gusaneria. By 1961, several thousand Cubans were employed at The United States Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, and were subject to different labor conditions outsider of the collectivized cuban system. They were referred to as gusanos by the public. This exists as an early example of Cubans being