Buenos Aires Landscapes

While the Olympic Games happen in Beijing, in Buenos Aires the Barrio Chino (Chinese Quarter or China Town) is in party. The street Arribeños, in the Belgrano neighborhood, is all decorated to celebrate the Olympics, with Chinese lamps crossing the street side to side and tents of souvenirs, clothes, objects of art and typical food. There is also a stage where we can see demonstrations of Chinese martial arts and dances. Thousands of people, Argentines, Chineses and tourists are visiting this quarter during these days to celebrate the Olympics and to have a bigger contact with this millenarian culture.

Chinese lamps on the street

Chinese man preparing a typical food in one of the street tents

Chinese girl in front of a gift shop

The Chinese community of Buenos Aires is composed of about 60.000 immigrants, some of them we can see spread in the kioscos and markets of the city. However, they are congregated in its bigger part at the Barrio Chino.

Stage at the end of the street with a Tai Chi Chuan demonstration

On the stage we could witness a Wushu demonstration, that means ”martial art” in Chinese. It is a sport of exhibition and contact derived from the traditional Chinese martial arts. Today it is one of the most popular sports inside China, practiced by the young and old alike. Its emphasis has shifted from combat to performance, and it is practiced for its method of achieving heath, self-defense skills, mental discipline, recreational pursuit and competition. It is similar to Kung Fu, however Kung Fu remains as the traditional fighting practice and Wushu has become an athletic and aesthetic performance and competitive sport. The beauty and fluidity of the movements that sometimes resemble to a dance had impressed me.

The two photos below were taken during the presentation of the Club Argentino de Wushu (Club Villa Malcolm, Av. Córdoba 5064 - Capital Federal).

Wushu demonstration

Wushu demonstration

When we were leaving, we saw a woman between some tents holding posters and brochures alerting for the other side of China. I leave here one link and another one with information on Human Rights in China and the Olympics.

Where?
Arribeños Street and Juramento Avenue 

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sepphora | August 10, 2008 | 6:47 pm | Belgrano