The wonders of communism…
In communist Cuba the markets have no food; the stores have no merchandise; the bathrooms have no toilet paper; the faucets have no water; the electrical outlets have no electricity; the gas stations have no gas; the hospitals have no medical care; the pharmacies have no medicine; and Chinatown has no Chinese.
In Cuba, a Chinatown With No Chinese
“The barrio chino? Not even the Chinese go there.”
In Havana’s barrio chino, or Chinatown district, this is not an uncommon phrase. One of Latin America’s oldest Chinatowns is a shadow of its former self: the stone Paifang gate and a few waitresses in red cheongsam (or qipao), all that distinguish it from the rest of the city.
Yet Cuba itself is awash in Chinese tourists and, increasingly, investors. China has become the main export destination for Cuban goods, as well as the main importer on the island. Yutong buses carry tourists and locals alike, and Huawei is set to be the main provider for the country’s growing internet ventures. Yet the capitol’s barrio chino is noticeably lacking in Chinese diaspora, most of whom fled the island soon after Fidel Castro nationalized businesses in 1959. Those that remain have long since scattered into other districts or left Havana altogether.
Continue reading HERE.
Oh, but this is perfectly in keeping with Castro logic. There’s a “president’ who was never elected, a four-star “general” who was never in combat, a Havana “city historian” without bona fide academic credentials, an “Assembly of People’s Power” made up of human rubber stamps who may be people but have zero power, and so on and so forth, ad nauseam. The “revolution” is nothing if not, uh, imaginative.
You are absolutely right Asombra. Didn’t think of it that way, but, HEY, since everything in Cuba is a fantasy, why not have a fantasy China Town? While we are at it, lets not forget, there is also a fantasy Jewish Community made up for that Dworkins woman and a handful of highly diluded decendants of Jews [that every time they have the opportunity escape to Israel] and handful of converts with maybe 3 or 4 full-blooded Jews close to 100 years old left on the island. Yet, there is a Jewish turism to Cuba with that Hotel Raquel catering to Jews. Even Spaniards that were everywhere [I read that in the 50’s as much as 25% of the population was Spanish born] is scarce. Same thing for Americans. They were the first to leave even though there were close to 20,000 Americans living in Cuba. Basically all of the ethnic communities have left: Syrians, Lebanese, Spaniards, Jews, Chinese, etc… castro turned us into a Caribbean country in every sense of the word. THANK YOU FIDEL! [chic]