Chinatowns in Latin America
Encyclopedia
Chinatowns in Latin America developed with the rise of Chinese immigration
in the 19th century to various countries in Latin America
as contract laborers (i.e., indentured servant
s) in agricultural and fishing
industries. Most came from Guangdong Province. Since the 1970s, the new arrivals have typically hailed from Hong Kong
, Macau
, and Taiwan
. Latin American Chinatowns may include the descendants of original migrants — often of mixed Chinese and Latino
parentage — and more recent immigrants from East Asia
. Most Asian Latin Americans are of Cantonese
and Hakka
origin.
Estimates widely vary on the number of Chinese Descendants in Latin America but it is at least
1.4 million and likely much greater than this.
Unlike the Chinatowns of Anglo America and Europe
, pure-blood ethnic Chinese were relatively few in number but now increasing rapidly due to generally lower levels of Chinese immigration to some parts of Latin America. Residents of Latin American Chinatowns tend to be multilingual. Latin America's Chinatowns include those of Mexico City
, Havana
, Buenos Aires
, and Lima. Some of these Chinatowns mainly serve as tourist attractions and not as true, living ethnic communities. The Chinatown of Havana, Cuba's is largely multi-generation Spanish-speaking Chinese Cuban whereas the Chinatown of the Belgrano
district of Buenos Aires, Argentina consists of many first-generation Holo
- and Mandarin-speaking immigrants from Taiwan.
Politically, several nations of Latin America recognize the government of the Republic of China
in Taiwan. A Chinese arch was presented as a gift to the Barrio Chino of Panama City, following the visit of Panama by the then Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui
. After the major official visit by the Cuban Revolution's Fidel Castro
to the People's Republic of China
in 1995, materials were given for the new Chinese arch on Calle Dragone in Havana's Barrio Chino.
. Large numbers of recent Taiwan
ese and Mainland Chinese
immigrants have settled in the area. Also included are ethnic Chinese from other parts of the Americas and East Asia, and Asians of non-Chinese ancestry, mainly Japanese and Korean, whose first immigrants date from WWII and the Korean war.http://www.lanacion.com.ar/edicionimpresa/suplementos/inmueblescomerciales/nota.asp?nota_id=681082&origen=ranking
, has no permanent Chinatown, but the Chinese-Brazilian community is centered around the Liberdade
district. Besides being an area famous for its strong Japanese
presence, a significant number of Taiwan
ese immigrants settled in Liberdade, and many Chinese
immigrants have come to Liberdade following the Communist revolution in 1949. Many Cantonese from Hong Kong
and Portuguese
-speaking Macau
— including some Macanese
of mixed Chinese and Portuguese
descent — also settled the place after their return to mainland Chinese rule
in 1997 and 1999 respectively. These Macau immigrants can usually speak and understand Portuguese
(and sometimes also its creole
, Macanese or Patuá
), allowing them to adjust more easily to life in Brazil. A very sizeable number of ethnic Chinese from Indonesia have settled the area as refugees when they were violently forced out in the 1960s. Today, Chinese Brazilian
s are the second largest Asian ethnic group in Brazil, after the Japanese. The Liberdade district has a distinct multi-Asian cultural presence. In addition, the Chinese community of São Paulo have centered around "25 de Março," an extensive retail and wholesale shopping area in the old center of SP.
, where Chinese-owned businesses and stores selling authentic Chinese goods are, but it's not a classic example of what a "Chinatown" is without the pagodas or other features associated with Chinatowns around the world.
area and San José
, around the "Paseo de los estudiantes" area. Recent Chinese immigrants are coming from Taiwan
, many of whom have established businesses in Costa Rica.
The Chinese government will be contributing US$1 million dollars to help construct a Chinatown or Barrio Chino. Costa Rica’s Government or municipalidad de San José will also provide about US$300,000 to help finance the project.
This announcement came in an official ceremony that included Costa Rican president, Oscar Arias, Municipalidad de San José mayor, Johnny Araya and the mayor of Beijing, Guo Jinlong, to place the cornerstone for the project.
The area in the Catedral district between Avenidas 2 an 14, now known as Paseo de los Estudiantes will become Barrio Chino that will include a pedestrian boulevard. This new Chinatown development will include restaurants serving oriental food and retail stores selling oriental artifacts, medication and other products.
started in 1847 when Spanish settlers brought in Cantonese contract workers to work in the sugar fields. Hundreds of thousands of Chinese workers were brought in from Hong Kong
, Macau
, and Taiwan
during the following decades to replace the labor of African slaves. After completing 8-year contracts, the Chinese immigrants generally settled permanently in Cuba, where their descendants have since intermarried with local Cubans.
Unlike that of Argentina and other Latin American countries, the overseas Chinese population of Cuba
was once large, but the now-diminished Chinese Cuban
community is today clustered around the largely dying Barrio Chino — called Barrio Chino de La Habana — on Calle Zanja, in Havana
. After the Cuban Revolution
of 1959, many Chinese Cuban entrepreneurs fled the country for the United States
. Since the 1960s, Cuba has not attracted very many, if any, Chinese immigrants (developments or redevelopments of Chinatowns tend to require much private investments for which political conditions in Cuba are not favorable).
Only one Chinese-language newspaper, Kwong Wah Po, remains in Cuba. Havana's Chinatown was formerly among the largest in Latin America
as the neighborhood comprised 44 square blocks during its prime. To tie in with the Revolution's economic reliance on tourism, attempts have recently been launched to attract revitalization investment for the Chinatown from Mainland Chinese
state-run enterprises and overseas Chinese
private investors, particularly Chinese Canadian
s.
thrives, in that country's capital city Santo Domingo
, on Avenida Duarte; it was officially inaugurated as a Chinatown in 2006. While serving the local Chinese community with at least 40 immigrant-run businesses, it is also promoted as a tourist attraction. The development of Chinatown is now gaining momentum, and a new gateway arch
is in development. First-generation Chinese immigrants came from Hong Kong and Taiwan in 1970s.
to Mexico came from China
, some were Philippine
-born Chinese, brought by the Manila-Acapulco galleon
trade. However most contemporary Chinese immigrants came to Mexico during the 20th century as contract workers and political refugees. With the rise of anti-Chinese sentiment in Mexico in the 1930s under President Plutarco Elías Calles
, most Chinese Mexicans, including individuals of mixed Chinese and Mexican descent, were forced out of Mexico and deported to China.
Mexico City
's small barrio chino is on Calle Dolores in Cuauhtémoc borough
in the city center.
, Baja California
, adjacent to the United States
, contains the largest concentration of Chinese Mexicans in Mexico
; its Chinatown, on Avenida Madero Calle Azueta, is called La Chinesca (The Chinesque one). Some of the earliest Chinese settlers who arrived in the United States
eventually went south to Mexico to escape institutionalized anti-Chinese persecution in California
. The largest number of new Cantonese-speaking Chinese immigrants came mostly from the Guangzhou
area around 1919. Mexicali had a local chapter of the Kuomintang
. There is now a consulate of the People's Republic of China
in Mexicali as well as one in nearby Tijuana. The economic problems of Mexico in the 1980s led many Chinese-Mexicans to migrate north into the United States. Today, members of the multigenerational Chinese-Mexican community own and operate many businesses across the city. One of the oldest Chinese restaurants, Restaurant 19, or named after one of the early Mexican chinatown corridors Alley 19 was opened on December 18, 1928 and eventually closed in Winter 2001. It was known to be one of the oldest Chinese restaurants in Mexico. This restaurant was utilized by many U.S. and Mexican officials and celebrities throughout the years; its end eventually came due to the devaluation of the peso
in the 1980s and the new border crossing that takes tourist and locals away from the original heart of Mexicali. Currently there are more than 80 Chinese restaurants from small coffee shops (cafés de chinos) to huge 750 occupancy dining rooms. Nowadays, there are about 2,000 Chinese Mexicans living in the city, however there are 100,000 residents more than thought who are of Chinese descent .
has no permanent Chinatown but the Chinese Nicaraguan
community is centered around Managua
and the Caribbean coast, most notably in Bluefields
and Puerto Cabezas
. Many Chinese immigrants are present, most of who are from mainland China and also from Taiwan
. The Chinese first arrived in Nicaragua's Caribbean coast, where most settled in cities such as Bluefields, El Bluff
, Laguna de Perlas
, and Puerto Cabezas. Then in the late 19th century began migrating to the Pacific lowlands of the country, mainly Managua. Many Chinese in Nicaragua committed themselves to the commerce
industry and opened up businesses. They also dedicated themselves to the candy, soap, and clothing industries.
The main Peru
vian Chinatown is located in Lima
and is called the Barrio Chino de Lima, located on Calle Capón (Block 7 of Ucayali Street); it is one of the two earliest Chinatowns in the Western Hemisphere, along with that of Havana
, and contains various architecture in traditional Chinese fashion. Local Chinese restaurants, called in Peruvian Spanish chifa
s, serve Chinese food with significant Peruvian influence and are popular in Chinatown among native Peruvians as well.
In contrast to Cuba, the Chinese Peruvians, despite the problems of recent history in the country — including the dictatorial rule of Juan Velasco Alvarado
(1968–1975), which forced many of his Chinese Peruvian opponents to flee (mainly to the United States
) — have still chosen to remain in large numbers.
Historical Chinese immigration to the Amazonian region of Peru is intriguingly documented in a small village named Chino
several miles outside of Iquitos. While its inhabitants, in the main, are clearly native Amazonians, many bear striking genetic traits — markedly smoother facial structure, stereotypically Asian eyes, and straighter hair — which may mark the existence of a community of Chinese immigrants in the 19th or 20th century who intermarried and vanished, as mysteriously as they came.
is also home to one of Latin America's largest concentrations of ethnic Chinese.The city of Valencia, Carabobo home of the major Chinese community hosts various markets devoted to Chinese culture where can be found from smoked ducks to authentic pottery. A local newspaper is also edited in Chinese. Not less relevant a lively barrio chino can be found on Avenida Principal El Bosque in the El Bosque
district of Caracas
.
Cantonese is widely spoken among Chinese Venezuelans, especially the variety commonly known as Hoisan or Toisan, but there has been recent Taiwanese immigration, adding to the linguistic and cultural diversity. Chinese from other places of the world also settled in Venezuela, especially from the Philippines, where they were experienced persecution in the 1970s under Ferdinand Marcos
, and Cuba
, where Fidel Castro's Communist Revolution seized their businesses.
Overseas Chinese
Overseas Chinese are people of Chinese birth or descent who live outside the Greater China Area . People of partial Chinese ancestry living outside the Greater China Area may also consider themselves Overseas Chinese....
in the 19th century to various countries in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
as contract laborers (i.e., indentured servant
Indentured servant
Indentured servitude refers to the historical practice of contracting to work for a fixed period of time, typically three to seven years, in exchange for transportation, food, clothing, lodging and other necessities during the term of indenture. Usually the father made the arrangements and signed...
s) in agricultural and fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
industries. Most came from Guangdong Province. Since the 1970s, the new arrivals have typically hailed from Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
, and Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. Latin American Chinatowns may include the descendants of original migrants — often of mixed Chinese and Latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
parentage — and more recent immigrants from East Asia
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
. Most Asian Latin Americans are of Cantonese
Cantonese people
The Cantonese people are Han people whose ancestral homes are in Guangdong, China. The term "Cantonese people" would then be synonymous with the Bun Dei sub-ethnic group, and is sometimes known as Gwong Fu Jan for this narrower definition...
and Hakka
Hakka people
The Hakka , sometimes Hakka Han, are Han Chinese who speak the Hakka language and have links to the provincial areas of Guangdong, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan and Fujian in China....
origin.
Estimates widely vary on the number of Chinese Descendants in Latin America but it is at least
1.4 million and likely much greater than this.
Unlike the Chinatowns of Anglo America and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, pure-blood ethnic Chinese were relatively few in number but now increasing rapidly due to generally lower levels of Chinese immigration to some parts of Latin America. Residents of Latin American Chinatowns tend to be multilingual. Latin America's Chinatowns include those of Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
, Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, and Lima. Some of these Chinatowns mainly serve as tourist attractions and not as true, living ethnic communities. The Chinatown of Havana, Cuba's is largely multi-generation Spanish-speaking Chinese Cuban whereas the Chinatown of the Belgrano
Belgrano
- People :* José Denis Belgrano , Spanish painter* Manuel Belgrano, Argentine politician and military leader* Mario Belgrano, Argentine historian- In Argentina :* General Belgrano, Buenos Aires, a city in the Buenos Aires Province...
district of Buenos Aires, Argentina consists of many first-generation Holo
Hoklo people
The Hoklo people are Han Chinese people whose traditional Ancestral homes are in southern Fujian of South China...
- and Mandarin-speaking immigrants from Taiwan.
Politically, several nations of Latin America recognize the government of the Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
in Taiwan. A Chinese arch was presented as a gift to the Barrio Chino of Panama City, following the visit of Panama by the then Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui
Lee Teng-hui
Lee Teng-hui is a politician of the Republic of China . He was the 7th, 8th, and 9th-term President of the Republic of China and Chairman of the Kuomintang from 1988 to 2000. He presided over major advancements in democratic reforms including his own re-election which marked the first direct...
. After the major official visit by the Cuban Revolution's Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
to the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
in 1995, materials were given for the new Chinese arch on Calle Dragone in Havana's Barrio Chino.
Argentina
It is centered around Arribeños, Mendoza and Montañeses Streets, in the middle class neighbourhood of Belgrano, Buenos AiresBelgrano, Buenos Aires
Belgrano is a leafy, northern barrio or neighborhood of the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina.- Location :The barrio of Palermo is to the southeast; Nuñez is to the northwest; Coghlan, Villa Urquiza, Villa Ortúzar and Colegiales are to the southwest....
. Large numbers of recent Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
ese and Mainland Chinese
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
immigrants have settled in the area. Also included are ethnic Chinese from other parts of the Americas and East Asia, and Asians of non-Chinese ancestry, mainly Japanese and Korean, whose first immigrants date from WWII and the Korean war.http://www.lanacion.com.ar/edicionimpresa/suplementos/inmueblescomerciales/nota.asp?nota_id=681082&origen=ranking
Brazil
São Paulo, BrazilBrazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, has no permanent Chinatown, but the Chinese-Brazilian community is centered around the Liberdade
Liberdade
Liberdade is the name of a district in the subprefecture of Sé, in São Paulo, Brazil. It is home to the largest Japanese community outside of Japan in the world and has been growing since the 1950s....
district. Besides being an area famous for its strong Japanese
Ethnic Japanese
Ethnic Japanese may mean:* Japanese people, when referring to people of Japanese descent** May also be used as a term to refer to the Yamato people as opposed to the minority peoples of Japan: the Ainu, Ryukyuans, Burakumin and immigrant groups such as the Han Chinese and Koreans.* Japanese...
presence, a significant number of Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
ese immigrants settled in Liberdade, and many Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
immigrants have come to Liberdade following the Communist revolution in 1949. Many Cantonese from Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
-speaking Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
— including some Macanese
Macanese people
The Macanese-born Portuguese people or simply the Macanese people refer to an ethnic group which originated in Macau since the 16th century, consisting mostly of people with some Portuguese ancestry.-Culture:...
of mixed Chinese and Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
descent — also settled the place after their return to mainland Chinese rule
Transfer of the sovereignty of Hong Kong
The transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China, referred to as ‘the Return’ or ‘the Reunification’ by the Chinese and ‘the Handover’ by others, took place on 1 July 1997...
in 1997 and 1999 respectively. These Macau immigrants can usually speak and understand Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
(and sometimes also its creole
Creole language
A creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable natural language developed from the mixing of parent languages; creoles differ from pidgins in that they have been nativized by children as their primary language, making them have features of natural languages that are normally missing from...
, Macanese or Patuá
Macanese language
Macanese or Macau Creole is a creole language derived mainly from Malay, Sinhalese, Cantonese, and Portuguese, which was originally spoken by the Macanese community of the Portuguese colony of Macau...
), allowing them to adjust more easily to life in Brazil. A very sizeable number of ethnic Chinese from Indonesia have settled the area as refugees when they were violently forced out in the 1960s. Today, Chinese Brazilian
Chinese Brazilian
Chinese Brazilians are people of Chinese ancestry who were born in or have immigrated to Brazil. The Chinese Brazilian population was estimated to be approximately 151,649....
s are the second largest Asian ethnic group in Brazil, after the Japanese. The Liberdade district has a distinct multi-Asian cultural presence. In addition, the Chinese community of São Paulo have centered around "25 de Março," an extensive retail and wholesale shopping area in the old center of SP.
Chile
The majority of 5,000 Chinese people in Chiles live in a district locally known as El Districto de la Chinesca or Chinatown in SantiagoSantiago, Chile
Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...
, where Chinese-owned businesses and stores selling authentic Chinese goods are, but it's not a classic example of what a "Chinatown" is without the pagodas or other features associated with Chinatowns around the world.
Costa Rica
There is a sizeable Chinese community in the PuntarenasPuntarenas
Puntarenas is the capital and largest city in the province Puntarenas, Costa Rica, at the Pacific coast. The eponymous and oddly shaped province has its largest section in the South, far from the capital.Some 100,000 live in the city and close towns...
area and San José
San José, Costa Rica
San José is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica. Located in the Central Valley, San José is the seat of national government, the focal point of political and economic activity, and the major transportation hub of this Central American nation.Founded in 1738 by order of Cabildo de León, San...
, around the "Paseo de los estudiantes" area. Recent Chinese immigrants are coming from Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, many of whom have established businesses in Costa Rica.
The Chinese government will be contributing US$1 million dollars to help construct a Chinatown or Barrio Chino. Costa Rica’s Government or municipalidad de San José will also provide about US$300,000 to help finance the project.
This announcement came in an official ceremony that included Costa Rican president, Oscar Arias, Municipalidad de San José mayor, Johnny Araya and the mayor of Beijing, Guo Jinlong, to place the cornerstone for the project.
The area in the Catedral district between Avenidas 2 an 14, now known as Paseo de los Estudiantes will become Barrio Chino that will include a pedestrian boulevard. This new Chinatown development will include restaurants serving oriental food and retail stores selling oriental artifacts, medication and other products.
Cuba
Chinese immigration to CubaCuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
started in 1847 when Spanish settlers brought in Cantonese contract workers to work in the sugar fields. Hundreds of thousands of Chinese workers were brought in from Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
, and Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
during the following decades to replace the labor of African slaves. After completing 8-year contracts, the Chinese immigrants generally settled permanently in Cuba, where their descendants have since intermarried with local Cubans.
Unlike that of Argentina and other Latin American countries, the overseas Chinese population of Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
was once large, but the now-diminished Chinese Cuban
Chinese Cuban
A Chinese Cuban is a Cuban of Chinese ancestry who was born in or has immigrated to Cuba. They are part of the ethnic Chinese diaspora .-History:...
community is today clustered around the largely dying Barrio Chino — called Barrio Chino de La Habana — on Calle Zanja, in Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
. After the Cuban Revolution
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt by Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement against the regime of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista between 1953 and 1959. Batista was finally ousted on 1 January 1959, and was replaced by a revolutionary government led by Castro...
of 1959, many Chinese Cuban entrepreneurs fled the country for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Since the 1960s, Cuba has not attracted very many, if any, Chinese immigrants (developments or redevelopments of Chinatowns tend to require much private investments for which political conditions in Cuba are not favorable).
Only one Chinese-language newspaper, Kwong Wah Po, remains in Cuba. Havana's Chinatown was formerly among the largest in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
as the neighborhood comprised 44 square blocks during its prime. To tie in with the Revolution's economic reliance on tourism, attempts have recently been launched to attract revitalization investment for the Chinatown from Mainland Chinese
Mainland Chinese
Mainland Chinese or Mainlanders are Chinese people who live in a region considered a "mainland". It is frequently used in the context of areas ruled by the People's Republic of China, referring to people from Mainland China as opposed to other areas controlled by the state such as Hong Kong or...
state-run enterprises and overseas Chinese
Overseas Chinese
Overseas Chinese are people of Chinese birth or descent who live outside the Greater China Area . People of partial Chinese ancestry living outside the Greater China Area may also consider themselves Overseas Chinese....
private investors, particularly Chinese Canadian
Chinese Canadian
Chinese Canadians are Canadians of Chinese descent. They constitute the second-largest visible minority group in Canada, after South Asian Canadians...
s.
Dominican Republic
While Havana's Barrio Chino is struggling for self-preservation, a new bustling and organic Chinatown in the Dominican RepublicDominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
thrives, in that country's capital city Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo, known officially as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic. Its metropolitan population was 2,084,852 in 2003, and estimated at 3,294,385 in 2010. The city is located on the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the Ozama River...
, on Avenida Duarte; it was officially inaugurated as a Chinatown in 2006. While serving the local Chinese community with at least 40 immigrant-run businesses, it is also promoted as a tourist attraction. The development of Chinatown is now gaining momentum, and a new gateway arch
Gateway Arch
The Gateway Arch, or Gateway to the West, is an arch that is the centerpiece of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in St. Louis, Missouri. It was built as a monument to the westward expansion of the United States...
is in development. First-generation Chinese immigrants came from Hong Kong and Taiwan in 1970s.
Guatemala
There is a Chinese community on "Sexta Calle" (6th. Street), between 3rd. and 4th. Avenue in Zone 1, in Guatemala City.History
The first Chinese immigrantsOverseas Chinese
Overseas Chinese are people of Chinese birth or descent who live outside the Greater China Area . People of partial Chinese ancestry living outside the Greater China Area may also consider themselves Overseas Chinese....
to Mexico came from China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, some were Philippine
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
-born Chinese, brought by the Manila-Acapulco galleon
Manila Galleon
The Manila galleons or Manila-Acapulco galleons were Spanish trading ships that sailed once or twice per year across the Pacific Ocean between Manila in the Philippines, and Acapulco, New Spain . The name changed reflecting the city that the ship was sailing from...
trade. However most contemporary Chinese immigrants came to Mexico during the 20th century as contract workers and political refugees. With the rise of anti-Chinese sentiment in Mexico in the 1930s under President Plutarco Elías Calles
Plutarco Elías Calles
Plutarco Elías Calles was a Mexican general and politician. He was president of Mexico from 1924 to 1928, but he continued to be the de facto ruler from 1928–1935, a period known as the maximato...
, most Chinese Mexicans, including individuals of mixed Chinese and Mexican descent, were forced out of Mexico and deported to China.
Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
's small barrio chino is on Calle Dolores in Cuauhtémoc borough
Cuauhtémoc, D.F.
Cuauhtémoc, named after the former Aztec leader, is one of the 16 boroughs of the Federal district of Mexico City. It consists of the oldest parts of the city, extending over what was the entire city in the 1920s. This area is the historic and culture center of the city, although it is not the...
in the city center.
Mexicali, a historic Chinese outpost
The border city of MexicaliMexicali
Mexicali is the capital of the State of Baja California, seat of the Municipality of Mexicali, and 2nd largest city in Baja California. The City of Mexicali has a population of 689,775, according to the 2010 census, while the population of the entire metropolitan area reaches 936,826.The city...
, Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
, adjacent to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, contains the largest concentration of Chinese Mexicans in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
; its Chinatown, on Avenida Madero Calle Azueta, is called La Chinesca (The Chinesque one). Some of the earliest Chinese settlers who arrived in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
eventually went south to Mexico to escape institutionalized anti-Chinese persecution in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. The largest number of new Cantonese-speaking Chinese immigrants came mostly from the Guangzhou
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
area around 1919. Mexicali had a local chapter of the Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
. There is now a consulate of the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
in Mexicali as well as one in nearby Tijuana. The economic problems of Mexico in the 1980s led many Chinese-Mexicans to migrate north into the United States. Today, members of the multigenerational Chinese-Mexican community own and operate many businesses across the city. One of the oldest Chinese restaurants, Restaurant 19, or named after one of the early Mexican chinatown corridors Alley 19 was opened on December 18, 1928 and eventually closed in Winter 2001. It was known to be one of the oldest Chinese restaurants in Mexico. This restaurant was utilized by many U.S. and Mexican officials and celebrities throughout the years; its end eventually came due to the devaluation of the peso
Mexican peso
The peso is the currency of Mexico. Modern peso and dollar currencies have a common origin in the 15th–19th century Spanish dollar, most continuing to use its sign, "$". The Mexican peso is the 12th most traded currency in the world, the third most traded in the Americas, and by far the most...
in the 1980s and the new border crossing that takes tourist and locals away from the original heart of Mexicali. Currently there are more than 80 Chinese restaurants from small coffee shops (cafés de chinos) to huge 750 occupancy dining rooms. Nowadays, there are about 2,000 Chinese Mexicans living in the city, however there are 100,000 residents more than thought who are of Chinese descent .
Nicaragua
NicaraguaNicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
has no permanent Chinatown but the Chinese Nicaraguan
Chinese Nicaraguan
Chinese Nicaraguans are Nicaraguans of Chinese ancestry who immigrated to or born in Nicaragua...
community is centered around Managua
Managua
Managua is the capital city of Nicaragua as well as the department and municipality by the same name. It is the largest city in Nicaragua in terms of population and geographic size. Located on the southwestern shore of Lake Xolotlán or Lake Managua, the city was declared the national capital in...
and the Caribbean coast, most notably in Bluefields
Bluefields
Bluefields is the capital of the municipality of the same name, and of Región Autónoma del Atlántico Sur in Nicaragua. It was also capital of the former Zelaya Department, which was divided into North and South Atlantic Autonomous Regions...
and Puerto Cabezas
Puerto Cabezas
Puerto Cabezas is a municipality in, and capital of, the North Atlantic Coast department of Nicaragua....
. Many Chinese immigrants are present, most of who are from mainland China and also from Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. The Chinese first arrived in Nicaragua's Caribbean coast, where most settled in cities such as Bluefields, El Bluff
El Bluff
El Bluff is a port city on the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua within the bay of Bluefields. El Bluff handles limited cargo and has basic piers. It is also a base for the fishing vessels serving the Nicaraguan east coast going out to sea.-See also:Nicaragua...
, Laguna de Perlas
Laguna de Perlas
Pearl Lagoon is a town in the municipality by the same name. It is located in Región Autónoma del Atlántico Sur department of Nicaragua...
, and Puerto Cabezas. Then in the late 19th century began migrating to the Pacific lowlands of the country, mainly Managua. Many Chinese in Nicaragua committed themselves to the commerce
Commerce
While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...
industry and opened up businesses. They also dedicated themselves to the candy, soap, and clothing industries.
Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
vian Chinatown is located in Lima
Lima
Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
and is called the Barrio Chino de Lima, located on Calle Capón (Block 7 of Ucayali Street); it is one of the two earliest Chinatowns in the Western Hemisphere, along with that of Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
, and contains various architecture in traditional Chinese fashion. Local Chinese restaurants, called in Peruvian Spanish chifa
Chifa
Chifa is a term used in Peru to refer to a style of Chinese cooking in which ingredients which are available in Peru have been substituted for those originally used in China. Chinese immigrants came to Peru mainly from the southern province of Guangdong and particularly its capital city Guangzhou...
s, serve Chinese food with significant Peruvian influence and are popular in Chinatown among native Peruvians as well.
In contrast to Cuba, the Chinese Peruvians, despite the problems of recent history in the country — including the dictatorial rule of Juan Velasco Alvarado
Juan Velasco Alvarado
Juan Francisco Velasco Alvarado was a left-leaning Peruvian General who ruled Peru from 1968 to 1975 under the title of "President of the Revolutionary Government."- Early life :...
(1968–1975), which forced many of his Chinese Peruvian opponents to flee (mainly to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
) — have still chosen to remain in large numbers.
Historical Chinese immigration to the Amazonian region of Peru is intriguingly documented in a small village named Chino
Chino
Chino is a Spanish proper word for "Chinese", also used informally to refer to people with Asian features who may not be actually Asian. Chino, in Spanish can colloquially refer to curly hair....
several miles outside of Iquitos. While its inhabitants, in the main, are clearly native Amazonians, many bear striking genetic traits — markedly smoother facial structure, stereotypically Asian eyes, and straighter hair — which may mark the existence of a community of Chinese immigrants in the 19th or 20th century who intermarried and vanished, as mysteriously as they came.
Venezuela
VenezuelaVenezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
is also home to one of Latin America's largest concentrations of ethnic Chinese.The city of Valencia, Carabobo home of the major Chinese community hosts various markets devoted to Chinese culture where can be found from smoked ducks to authentic pottery. A local newspaper is also edited in Chinese. Not less relevant a lively barrio chino can be found on Avenida Principal El Bosque in the El Bosque
El Bosque
-Places:* El Bosque, Chile, a municipality within Greater Santiago* El Bosque, Chiapas, a municipality and township in the state of Chiapas, Mexico* El Bosque, Cádiz, in the province of Cádiz in Andalusia, southern Spain. Pop. 1,911 ....
district of Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
.
Cantonese is widely spoken among Chinese Venezuelans, especially the variety commonly known as Hoisan or Toisan, but there has been recent Taiwanese immigration, adding to the linguistic and cultural diversity. Chinese from other places of the world also settled in Venezuela, especially from the Philippines, where they were experienced persecution in the 1970s under Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos, Sr. was a Filipino leader and an authoritarian President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He was a lawyer, member of the Philippine House of Representatives and a member of the Philippine Senate...
, and Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, where Fidel Castro's Communist Revolution seized their businesses.
External links
- http://web.archive.org/web/20091027032057/http://www.geocities.com/paseovedado/chinatown.html Photographs of HavanaHavanaHavana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
's Chinatown] - Information on the Dominican Republic's Chinatown
- More information on the Dominican Republic's Chinatown
- Further information on the Dominican Republic's Chinatown
- Information on Mexicali's Chinesca
Further reading
- Mexicali's Chinatown, James R. Curtis, Geographical ReviewGeographical ReviewThe Geographical Review is an academic journal of the American Geographical Society. Currently published quarterly in January, April, July, and October. The periodicals are devoted exclusively to geography and contain original articles on all aspects of the discipline. The "Geographical Record"...
(Vol. 85, Issue 3), 1995