This article needs additional citations for verification .(August 2007) |
Total population | |
---|---|
300 (2011) [1] | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Havana | |
Languages | |
Cuban Spanish · Chinese | |
Religion | |
Buddhism · Taoism · Roman Catholicism | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Chinese Caribbeans, Chinese Peruvians, Chinese Brazilians, Overseas Chinese |
Chinese Cubans | |||||||||||
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Traditional Chinese | 古巴 華人 | ||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 古巴 华人 | ||||||||||
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Alternative Chinese name | |||||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 古巴 華僑 | ||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 古巴 华侨 | ||||||||||
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Chinese Cubans (Spanish :chino-cubano) are Cubans of full or mixed Chinese ancestry who were born in or have immigrated to Cuba. They are part of the ethnic Chinese diaspora (or Overseas Chinese).
Chinese immigration to Cuba started in 1837 when Chinese (mainly Cantonese and Hakka) contract workers were forcibly brought to work in the sugar fields via the indentured labor system. Hundreds of thousands of Chinese workers were brought in from Qing China,British Hong Kong,Portuguese Macau,and Taiwan during the following decades to replace and/or work alongside African and mixed-ancestry slaves. After completing eight-year contracts or otherwise obtaining their freedom,some Chinese immigrants settled permanently in Cuba,although most longed for repatriation to their homeland. Havana's Chinatown (known as Barrio Chino de La Habana) is one of the oldest and largest Chinatowns in Latin America. Some 105,000 immigrants from the U.S. came to Cuba during the late 19th century to escape the discrimination present at the time. Another,albeit smaller wave of Chinese immigrants,also arrived during the 20th century,some as supporters of the communist cause during the Cuban revolution and others as dissidents escaping the authorities in China.
There were almost no women among the nearly entirely male Chinese "coolie" population that migrated to Cuba (1%). [2] [3] Marriages of Chinese immigrants with Cuban mulatto,black and white women were reported by the Cuba Commission Report. [4]
In the 1920s,an additional 30,000 Cantonese and small groups of Japanese also arrived;both immigrations were exclusively male and there was rapid intermarriage with white,black and mulatto populations. [5]
In a study of genetic origins,admixture,and asymmetry in maternal and paternal human lineages in Cuba,thirty-five Y-chromosome SNPs were typed in the 132 male individuals of the Cuban sample. The study does not include any people with known Chinese ancestry. All the samples were white Cubans and black Cubans. Two out of 132 male samples belonged to East Asian haplogroup O2,which is found in significant frequencies among Cantonese people and is found in 1.5% of the Cuban population. [6] In the 1920s,an additional 30,000 Chinese arrived;the immigrants were exclusively male. In 1980,4000 Chinese lived there,but by 2002,only 300 pure Chinese were left. [7]
Two thousand Chinese,consisting of Cantonese and Hakkas,fought with the rebels in Cuba's Ten Years' War. A monument in Havana honours the Cuban Chinese who fell in the war,on which is inscribed:"There was not one Cuban Chinese deserter,not one Cuban Chinese traitor." [8]
Chinese Cubans,including some Chinese Americans from California,joined the Spanish–American War in 1898 to achieve independence from Spain,but a few Chinese,who were loyal to Spain,left Cuba and went to Spain. Racial acceptance and assimilation would come much later.
When the new revolutionary government led by Fidel Castro came to power in 1959,the economic and political situation changed. Many Chinese business owners,having had their properties expropriated by the new government,left Cuba. Most of these settled in the United States,particularly nearby Florida,where they and their U.S.-born children are called Chinese Americans or Cuban Americans of Chinese descent,while a relatively few fled to the nearby Dominican Republic and other Latin American countries and also to the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico. As a result of this exodus,the number of pure Chinese dropped sharply in Havana's Barrio Chino. The places to which they migrated had a unique Chinese culture and a popularity of Chinese Cuban restaurants.
From a peak population of 60,000 in the 1950s,the Chinese Cuban population has virtually disappeared following the Cuban Revolution in 1959. The majority of Chinese Cubans fled to the United States,in particular to Miami,Florida but some also settled in California or elsewhere in Latin America. [9]
Of the Chinese who stayed after the start of Fidel Castro's rule in 1961,the vast majority were of mixed descent with the local population. Today,younger generations are working in a wider variety of jobs than the previous generation including medicine,engineering,and law. A 2011 figure estimates that about 20,000 Cubans are of Chinese descent. [1]
Once among the largest Chinatowns in Latin America,the Barrio Chino de La Habana is now the world's smallest and is primarily concentrated in a small alleyway dominated by Chinese restaurants. Most Chinese Cubans live outside Barrio Chino. [10]
Several community groups,especially Chinatown Promotional Group (Spanish:Grupo Promotor del Barrio Chino),worked to revive Barrio Chino and the faded Chinese culture. Chinese Language and Arts School (Escuela de la Lengua y Artes China) opened in 1993 and has grown since then,helping Chinese Cubans to strengthen their knowledge of the Chinese language. Today,Chinese Cubans tend to speak Mandarin,Cantonese,and Hakka in addition to Spanish and English and may speak in a mixture of Chinese and Spanish. They also promoted small businesses,like beauty parlors,mechanical shops,restaurants and small groceries,provided to them to create a view of Barrio Chino. Havana's Barrio Chino also experienced buildings of Chinese architecture and museum with backgrounds about China. As a result,the Chinese Cuban community has gained visibility.
Havana is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. It is the most populous city, the largest by area, and the second largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean region. The population in 2012 was 2,154,454 inhabitants, and its area is 728.26 km2 (281.18 sq mi) for the capital city side and 8,475.57 km2 for the metropolitan zone.
Coolie is a pejorative term used for low-wage labourers, typically those of Indian or Chinese descent.
Chinese Peruvians, also known as tusán, are Peruvian citizens whose ancestors came from China.
This article discusses Chinatowns in the Americas, urban areas with a large population of people of Chinese descent. The regions include: Canada, the United States, and Latin America.
Chinatowns in Latin America developed with the rise of Chinese immigration in the 19th century to various countries in Latin America as contract laborers 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.
Urban Chinatowns exist in several major European cities. There is a Chinatown in London, England, as well as major Chinatowns in Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle and Liverpool. In Paris there are two Chinatowns: one where many Vietnamese – specifically ethnic Chinese refugees from Vietnam – have settled in the Quartier chinois in the 13th arrondissement of Paris which is Europe's largest Chinatown, and the other in Belleville in the northeast of Paris. Berlin, Germany has two Chinatowns, one in the East and one in the West. Antwerp, Belgium also has an upstart Chinese community.
Asian Latin Americans are Latin Americans of Asian descent. Asian immigrants to Latin America have largely been from East Asia or West Asia. Historically, Asians in Latin America have a centuries-long history in the region, starting with Filipinos in the 16th century. The peak of Asian immigration occurred in the 19th and 20th centuries. There are currently more than four million Asian Latin Americans, nearly 1% of Latin America's population. Chinese, Japanese, and Lebanese are the largest Asian ancestries; other major ethnic groups include Filipinos, Syrians, Koreans and Indians, many of whom are Indo-Caribbean and came from neighboring countries in the Caribbean and the Guianas. Brazil is home to the largest population of East Asian descent, estimated at 2.08 million. The country is also home to a large percentage of West Asian descendants. With as much as 5% of their population having some degree of Chinese ancestry, Peru and Mexico have the highest ratio of any country for East Asian descent. Though the most recent official census, which relied on self-identification, gave a much lower percentage.
Centro Habana is one of the 15 municipalities or boroughs in the city of Havana, Cuba. A chinatown - Barrio Chino - is also located in this district. It is a smaller municipality of Havana, and it has the highest population density.
Chifa is a Chinese Peruvian culinary tradition based on Cantonese elements fused with traditional Peruvian ingredients and traditions. The term is also used to refer to restaurants that serve the chifa cuisine.
Barrio chino is a neighborhood in Lima, Peru that is centered on two blocks – 7 and 8 – of Jirón Ucayali in downtown. The neighborhood was founded in the mid-19th century by Chinese immigrants, but it was heavily damaged in the late 19th century by the War of the Pacific and further declined in the following decades. It experienced a revival starting in the 1970s and is now a thriving resource for Chinese-Peruvian culture.
Asian Peruvians, primarily referring to those of Chinese and Japanese descent. Around 36,000 constitute some 0.16% of Peru's population as per the 2017 Census in Peru. In the 2017 Census in Peru, only 14,223 people self-reported tusán or Chinese ancestry, while only 22,534 people self-reported nikkei or Japanese ancestry. However, according to the 2009 census, it was estimated that 5% of the 29 million Peruvians in 2009 had Chinese roots and ancestry, while 160,000 Peruvians in 2015 had Japanese roots and ancestry. Today it is believed that the Asian population in Peru would be from 3 to 10% of the population.
Chinese immigration to Mexico began during the colonial era and has continued to the present day. The largest number of migrants to Mexico have arrived during two waves: the first spanning from the 1880s to the 1940s and another, reinvigorated wave of migrants arriving since the early 21st century. Between 1880 and 1910, during the term of President Porfirio Díaz, the Mexican government was trying to modernize the country, especially in building railroads and developing the sparsely populated northern states. When the government could not attract enough European immigrants, it was decided to allow Chinese migrant workers into the country. At first, small Chinese communities appeared mostly in the north of the country, but by the early 20th century, Chinese communities could be found in many parts of the country, including the capital of Mexico City. By the 1920s, the number of Chinese in the country was about 26,000.
Large-scale Chinese immigration to Puerto Rico and the Caribbean began during the 19th century. Chinese immigrants had to face different obstacles that prohibited or restricted their entry in Puerto Rico.
Filipino Cubans are Cubans of Filipino ancestry. Filipinos have been settling in Cuba since the 16th century and they are one of the earliest Asian communities in the country.
The Chinese community in the Dominican Republic forms one of the largest Chinese communities in Latin America. As of 2012, there are over 3,600 recorded Chinese-born Dominican residents. Although no official census has been made, there are estimates of approximately 60,000 people of Chinese origin living in the country. Chinese descendants living in the Dominican Republic may be referred as Chinese Dominicans.
Sino-Latin America relations are relations between China — which is by defined as either the People's Republic of China or the Republic of China — and the countries of Latin America. Such relations have become increasingly important between the region and Latin America.
The Chinese in Latin America and the Caribbean is a 2010 book edited by Walton Look Lai and Tan Chee-Beng and published by Brill.
Asian Mexicans are Mexicans of Asian descent. Asians are considered cuarta raíz of Mexico in conjunction with the two main roots: Native and European, and the third African root.
The Plaza del Vapor was a covered market in Havana, it was completed in 1835. Its name derives from its builder Francisco Martí who became later the impresario of the Tacón Theatre and who had a monopoly of fish trade in the city. Martí had a painting placed against a wall from a bar of the ship El Neptuno, the first vapor that made regular round trips between Havana and Matanzas. "It was the image of that ship that ended up naming the building." From the Plaza del Vapor, Martí sold 50% of all the lottery tickets. in Cuba.
Chinese Latin American or Chino-Latino cuisine, associated with Asian Latin Americans of Chinese origin, combines elements of Chinese cuisine with other Latin American influences. It is found in Chinese communities and Chinatowns across Latin America, including Peru and Cuba. It has spread to the United States with the migration of Asian Latin Americans, particularly the migration of Chinese Cubans to New York City.