Golden exile

1959–1960 The first to emigrate after the revolution were those who were associated or worked for the old Batista regime. The U.S. embassy in Havana and consulate in Santiago would regularly grant visas to Cubans wishing to leave. Many middle class emigrants were often professionals that were tied to American companies that were nationalized. Many of the emigrants that would leave believed they would be returning soon to Cuba, Some of those exiled in the United States would organize a militant resistance to the Fidel Castro government. The flight of many skilled workers after the revolution caused a “brain drain.” This loss of trained professionals sparked a renovation of the Cuban education system to accommodate the education of new professionals to replace those that had emigrated. 1961 On January 3, 1961 the United States broke off diplomatic relations with Cuba and afterwards emigrants gained visas for humanitarian reasons, and after arriving in the United States they could apply for parole and gain refugee status. In April of 1961 the Bay of Pigs Invasion consisting of many militant and anti-fidelista Cuban exiles would fail to take over Cuba. Afterwards those who would choose to emigrate would view their decision as a permanent one. Fidel Castro would then term those leaving "gusanos" (worms). Growing controversy in Cuba with the nationalization of Catholic schools spurred the development of Operation Peter Pan to relocate children to the United States. 1962 During the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962, travel between the United States and Cuba became restricted. Afterwards Cuban emigration would occur using makeshift vessels illegally leaving Cuba. From 1959 to the end of open travel in 1962 around 250,000 Cubans left the island. ==Characteristics==

Demographics Researcher Jorge Duany claims the majority of exiles were urban, middle-aged, well-educated, light-skinned, and white-collar workers, who emigrated primarily for religious, or political reasons. He also claims that while the first emigrants left because they were old Bastianos, those after left because of disillusionment with the new government and because economic reforms and nationalizations of American companies had harmed their professions. Many exiles' were able to use already attained professional skills to eventually better their occupations, and contribute to building Miami's Cuban business enclave. ==Legacy==

Desire to return Of the many exiles who came immediately after 1959, many considered their exile to be temporary, because the Castro government was viewed as bound to fall soon. It was believed that once the Castro government eventually fell, the exiles would return to Cuba, and resume their lives as they were before the Cuban Revolution. Throughout the 1960s, to compliment a sense of temporary exile, many Cuban emigrants attempted to preserve their Cuban identity by opening Cuban educational institutions for their children while living in exile. With the cancellation of the Freedom Flights in the 1970s, and the entrance of Cuban emigrants from the 1980 Mariel boatlift, a shift developed in the self-perception of Cuban exiles. There was a growing sense that the Castro government was surviving for the long-term, and that their residence outside Cuba would also be long-term. With this shift, came a greater involvement in American politics, and the solidification of the Cuban business district in Little Havana. "Golden exile" identity The Cuban success story or sometimes referred to as the "myth of the golden exile", is the idea that Cuban exiles that came to the United States after the 1959 Cuban Revolution were mostly or exclusively political exiles who were white, largely conservative, and financially successful. The idea garnered traction starting in the 1960s via rags-to-riches stories of Cuban exiles in the US news media, and became widely promoted within the Cuban American community. The term "golden exile" has also been used in discussions involving immigration as a term to glorify Cuban immigrants as anti-communist political refugees and productive members of the middle class. This term has spurred controversy due to statistics countering this image. "Cuba de ayer" mythos . This first wave of upper-class emigrants from Cuba in the immediate years after the Cuban Revolution would leave the island with only memories of Cuba from the era of Fulgencio Batista. These memories formed the genesis of the idealized image of the Cuba de ayer ("Cuba of yesterday" in English). The Cuban exiles who came immediately after the revolution where largely shocked by American racism which differed in expression from Cuban racism. In Cuba no formal de jure racial segregation existed. Whatever social manifestations of racism existed in Cuba were often ignored or unknown to the upper-class white emigres arriving in Miami. The sight of formal racial segregation in the American south by Cuban exiles reinforced the idea that the Cuba de ayer was free of racism unlike the United States. The reconstruction of outlawed businesses and social organizations in Cuba by exiles now in Miami, reaffirmed the memories of the idyllic Cuba de ayer. Little Havana became an epicenter for Cuban life in Miami, specifically in how many institutions are Cuban owned and modeled in the image of nostalgia for the Cuba de ayer. ==See also==