The Chinese in Cuba

[Nino]

A friend and fellow blogger from S'pore sent me the link to this highly interesting and very touching documentary on the chinese in Cuba and the last survivors in Havana.

From a community 200.000 strong it went down to just 90 today.

Quite sad.

https://vimeo.com/18997506

Nino

[laficion]

Beautiful and at the same time ,sad. Thank you Nino !!!!!

[dvickery]

from the few times I stayed at the montehabana ... there is probably 90 Chinese living there . stays a year apart and (surprised me) same guys ... you only see them in the morning (at breakfast) with their laptops .

derrek

[bassman]

Visits to Havana's Chinatown & it's Jewish community were quite memorable for me.

[sk00ts]

Best egg roll and deep fried wantons I have ever had in my life were bought on the streets of Havana. Good sweet and sour sauce too

[Edwhatever]

Im in Hong King right now and tried to get in touch with the producer Mr. Lau.

Apparently hes in Kansas right now. He'll be visiting Asia this coming year though.

Hope I'll get to see him

[Nino]

Im in Hong King right now and tried to get in touch with the producer Mr. Lau.

Apparently hes in Kansas right now. He'll be visiting Asia this coming year though.

Hope I'll get to see him

Great,

if there's any chance to help and/or assist these people, I'd very happy. I have sent the link to HK friends as well.

Will see if I can find the ladies in HAV and contribute to their wellbeing.

Please pass on my compliments to Mr Lau if you contact him.

[Strada]

This is so interesting, I had no idea...

[MIKA27]

Thanks for posting Nino - I had no idea.

[seanbeer]

Beautiful and at the same time ,sad

is also my feeling after watching it.

I am a Hong Konger but I konw (from my birth certificate) that my grand grand grand father is from that area of gunagdong too, the 'Hoi ping', I also have no idea, i have never been there...

[Edwhatever]

Yes I will do so.

What is the link that you sent to your HK friends? May I have it as well?

Heres the link for Mr. Lau's website

http://www.pokchilau.com/

Great,

if there's any chance to help and/or assist these people, I'd very happy. I have sent the link to HK friends as well.

Will see if I can find the ladies in HAV and contribute to their wellbeing.

Please pass on my compliments to Mr Lau if you contact him.

[Edwhatever]

Lol I know there a Hoi Ping road in Causeway Bay.

Also where Cigar Emporium is

Beautiful and at the same time ,sad

is also my feeling after watching it.

I am a Hong Konger but I konw (from my birth certificate) that my grand grand grand father is from that area of gunagdong too, the 'Hoi ping', I also have no idea, i have never been there...

[Nino]

Yes I will do so.

What is the link that you sent to your HK friends? May I have it as well?

Heres the link for Mr. Lau's website

http://www.pokchilau.com/

Ed, thank you for that link, as all I had ( and passed on to HK ) was the link to the documentary.

I was thinking to contact Mr Lau to see how to assist the ladies or the Chinese community with a donation during my next trip.

Will keep you posted.

[CanuckSARTech]

Video link's not working now.

And agreed with what someone said above - phenomenal egg roll's in Cuba! LOL. The irony!

[Ginseng]

Sobering and sad. This is very reminiscent of Cheuk Kwan's Cuba episode in his Chinese Restaurants video series. Around the time of the release of Kwan's video in 2005, there were about 300 full-blood Chinese remaining. I imagine that many of the old Chinese in his video have since died. Perhaps the next report will be on the final extinction of the Chinese altogether.

I've had an unfulfilled interest in the history of the Chinese in Cuba ever since I learned about Barrio Chino and that some of my ancestors came to the west by way of Havana and stayed. This would have been several generations ago. I just hope that there will be some of that history, some of that legacy left by the time I am able to find my way down there.

Wilkey

[Skyfall]

Interesting. Thanks for sharing.

[Nino]

After contacting Mr Lau in Kansas, I have receíved the contact information for both ladies ( now in their early 80's ) shown in the documentary, Caridad and Georgina.

Both attend a Chinese society on Dragones near the Partagas factory for assistance.

I will visit them and I am sure some in the group will come along and help as well.

[Dara]

Nino, you continue to astound me with the education you give us all on the hidden aspects of Cuba...thank you professor!

[Nino]

Pleasure, Dara,

no professor here, just interested in stuff that is way more relevant and important than rolled dried leaves.

You're welcome to come along and visit the welfare society for a look into the other side.

[NJP]

Good form Nino.

[sengjc]

I am of Chinese descent. Glad to see we have representation in Cuba.

[laficion]

Very nics Nino, Thanks and have a GREAT visit in Habana .

Guy

[Nino]

Just posted the last post on my travel blog and it is about my visits to the Lung Kong welfare society for the Chinese elderly in Havana on Calle Dragones, a stone throw from the Partagas factory, where I met both Caridad and Georgina, both featured in the documentary.

I also met Graciela, the manager of the welfare society and many of the last Chinese-Cubans.

I'd like to thank Edward and Tom for also helping with donations and arranging for further assistance from Toronto.

For more text and pictures :

http://flyingcigar.de/startseite/a-cuban-chinese-christmas-story/

--------

A Cuban-Chinese Christmas Story

Just like last year when I was in Guangzhou during Christmas, this time it's again a story where the main actors are Cantonese and the storyline deeply touches my heart.

It certainly is much more important than rolled dry tobacco leaves, even while it plays in Havana/Cuba during a cigar festival .... so this will be my last post for this year and a fitting Christmas story.

A friend and fellow blogger from Singapore http://lohandbehold.com/ sent me the link to a documentary about the last remaining Chinese/Cantonese in Havana :

https://vimeo.com/18997506

The documentary in Cantonese : http://vimeo.com/18304444

I was touched by the documentary and decided to help if possible by visiting the people and making a donation.

I contacted Mr Pok Chi Lau, the maker of the documentary and received the contact information needed as well as some very valuable additional information and pictures.

Further good news came when I received both a pledge for a significant amount of money from Singapore and an offer to help from a good Cantonese friend and philanthropist in Hong Kong.

Armed with all this information I left for Havana looking forward to meet Caridad and Georgina as well as the Chinese/Cantonese society just a stone's throw away from the Partagas factory on Dragones Street.

And I truly was touched by the joy and surprise of Caridad and Georgina, as well as Graciela, the whirlwind director of the society and all the seniors.

Although I first smiled at the Graciela's comment of me being like Santa Claus to them, I realize it must have felt that way.

Someone from outside their ethnic or even cultural group drops out of the sky and brings them presents.

Well, being the son of immigrants myself I can understand their longing, and their basic problems are too Cuban and familiar to me by now.

I enjoyed my three visits there immensely and I do believe the seniors also had a pleasant time knowing that people outside are interested in their well-being and history.

I was very fortunate in that both Edward and Tom from Canada will see that the Toronto Chinese community supports the society in Havana with much needed basic and practical stuff that is almost impossible to get in Cuba.

Anyone interested in visiting and/or donating to this group of people while in Havana, please contact

Mrs Graciela Lau at Sociedad Lung Kong

Calle Dragones 364, entre Manrique y San Nicolas, Centro Habana

Tlf. 863 2061 - 867 1163

Nino

[Strada]

Awesome story and awesone job on the help guys !