Chinatown in SD

solituna

New member
Jan 26, 2004
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Great news

Wow, this is great news! I'm looking forward to seeing if the project can be completed and what it will look like.
I have a favourite spot on the corner of Duarte and Mexico where the Chinese food complies with my three requirements:

Bueno
Barato
Mucho

Co?o! Diablo!
 

NALs

Economist by Profession
Jan 20, 2003
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It's about time they employ an urban renewal type of plan for that part of town and many other areas.

That is a part of town that I usually dislike very much.

Not because of the people, but simply because it's one heck of an ugly area. It was a nice area when I was a kid though.
 
Sep 20, 2003
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How many native chinese-dominicans are there in the DR?

Was "China town" ever that Chinese looking to begin with?

How long has a sizable Chinese community been living in the DR?
 

NALs

Economist by Profession
Jan 20, 2003
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Just about every Latin country has a sizable Chinese community.

I can't say for how long exactly have Chinese been in Dominican territory, but I will say that they have been numerous as far back my great grandparents time! Thus that would throw you back to the mid to late 1800s.
 
Sep 20, 2003
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I remember reading that the Cuban dictator Batista had a Chinese grandparent.

I also saw CNN news reports that Cuba was restoring its China town district with a mix of government funds and overseas Asian donations.

I was wondering if there was a "noticable" Asian community in the DR or has it intermarried so much it has melted into the population.

The british/Jamacian super model Naomi Campbell is mixed race black/white/Chinese. So I had some notion there was an amount of asian inmmigration into the Carribbean.

Thanks for the reply Nahwols.
 
Sep 20, 2003
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Today, as fate would have it, I was rereading a book that had a small piece of information that some how had not made an impression on me.

Trujillo, Death of the Goat, by Berhard Dietrich.

An excerpt reads:

When Dictator Fulgencio Batista fled Havana on January 1,1959,two
top Dominican spies narrowly escaped Fidel Castro,whose revolutionary
movement they had been ordered to stop,at all costs,by Trujillo. In a
quick getaway by chartered plane,Johnny Abbes and Arturo Espalliat
took along a Dominican agent of Chinese descent, a veteran of several
foreign capers. Halfway to Miami where they were planning to land, the
Dominicans discovered that their subversive Oriental companion was
banned from entering the United States and might cause them a
problem. But the unconcerned Abbes remarked,"What Chinese?" He had
been dropped into the sea.

Swiftness of decision and contempt for even his aides lives were typical
of Johnny Abbes. By 1959, this latter day Himmler had earned his
reputation as the second most powerful man in the Republic.
 
Apr 26, 2002
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I really lament Avenida Duarte. No, not because it's incredibly seedy. Rather, all previous attempts to develop it have ignored its history.

As recently as the late 1980s, La Duarte was still lined by small art deco stores and theaters. Apparently, La Duarte was developed commercially during the 20s-40s. True, these buildings were in such a state of disrepair that you couldn't tell they were deco. Still, they could be saved.

Now they are almost all gone. Any redevelopment would have to be from scratch - a la Avenida Mexico. Avenida Mexico is not bad, but it ain't deco!
 

Mirador

On Permanent Vacation!
Apr 15, 2004
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Duarte? seedy? more like picturesque... I wouldn't have it otherwise... I'm a regular at the Chinese colmados, for my oolong tea, jinseng liqueur, sriracha hot sauce, etc. Also, I cant visit without stopping by one of my favorite oriental restaurants on Duarte almost corner with Ave. Mexico, called Dragon House.

Mirador
 

juancarlos

Bronze
Sep 28, 2003
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joel pacheco said:
I remember reading that the Cuban dictator Batista had a Chinese grandparent.

I also saw CNN news reports that Cuba was restoring its China town district with a mix of government funds and overseas Asian donations.

I was wondering if there was a "noticable" Asian community in the DR or has it intermarried so much it has melted into the population.

The british/Jamacian super model Naomi Campbell is mixed race black/white/Chinese. So I had some notion there was an amount of asian inmmigration into the Carribbean.

Thanks for the reply Nahwols.
Only thing is, regarding the Cuban Chinatown, is that there are no Chinese left. Most either left Cuba or died, a few old men remain, plus a handful of partly Chinese decent people. As far as Batista's "Chinese" ancestry, I think not. What happens is that Batista did have a lot of indigenous blood mixed with Spanish and black. In Cuba he was regarded as "mulato".
 

NALs

Economist by Profession
Jan 20, 2003
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Porfio_Rubirosa said:
I really lament Avenida Duarte. No, not because it's incredibly seedy. Rather, all previous attempts to develop it have ignored its history.

As recently as the late 1980s, La Duarte was still lined by small art deco stores and theaters. Apparently, La Duarte was developed commercially during the 20s-40s. True, these buildings were in such a state of disrepair that you couldn't tell they were deco. Still, they could be saved.

Now they are almost all gone. Any redevelopment would have to be from scratch - a la Avenida Mexico. Avenida Mexico is not bad, but it ain't deco!
La Duarte was the heart of the Santo Domingo of Trujillo's time. In fact, most of the art deco buildings in SDQ were built by Trujillo or one of his family members. Trujillo had a sort of affection for such type of architecture and who can blame him.

Afterall, Trujillo did visited South Florida in a few ocassions, maybe that's where he developed a sense of art deco "love".

In Trujillo's time, it was either Art Deco, Grand Baroque and Renaissance (ie. Palacio Nacional), or traditional Caribbean (ie. the many gingerbread wooden homes across the country that are painted in a multitude of colors).

If only Trujillo would have been slightly less dictatorial, he would have been the perfect leader of this country. Everything Trujillo did actually benefited Dominican society, except his strict laws and monopolistic habits. Other than that, this country was on cloud nine...

Coming back to the Duarte, I really hope any re-development attempts would include some post-modern architecture to replace the bland structures facades and for the few art deco that survive, restoring them would surely be nice. Also, prohibiting large comercial signs, repaving the road and the sidewalks, putting fancy street light fixtures and lining the street with date palm trees with every other tree being a flowering tree and such avenue could become the pride of this city, maybe even rivalling the Malecon. Then again, there is nothing better than the sea breeze that blows off the Malecon.

I really hope any redevelopment is done with some beatification process in mind and with the purpose of salvaging what can be salvaged and fixing what has gone bad to make the appearance of the city much more pleasant and beautiful.
 

Don Juan

Living Brain Donor
Dec 5, 2003
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More trees, less garbage.

Considering the lack of $ or the unwillingness of the gov. to invest in the infrastructure, I say the cheapest and quickest way to beautify SD's main thoroughfares such as Duarte is to haul away the mountains of garbage and plant lots of trees up and down the ave. Also, maybe on weekends, close them off to traffic. Make it into a pedestrian mall, Wow! This would be very,very good for commerce and will, temporarily at least, halt the exciting sport of inhaling fumes and car dodging.
 
Sep 20, 2003
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I've reread some biographic information on Batista, several sources claim he was part Chinese. Why do you think he was not?

I have Batista described as being part white, part black, part indian, and part Chinese.

Because of racial attitudes of the Cuban Elite, Batista's ethnic back ground kept him from joining a popular and elite yacht club in Havana.

Perhaps Cuba's Chinese community has dwindled away, but what is the state of the Dominican born Chinese community today? Is it any better than Cuba's?

I agree with other posters, try to preserve the art deco facades that are left.
 

Chirimoya

Well-known member
Dec 9, 2002
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Joel, I was hoping that by now, someone with more knowledge than I would have replied to the question about the Chinese community here. I'll try and answer based on my experience.

My impression is that there has been immigration over the last few generations, perhaps dating from the early 20th century, possibly even earlier.

I know one Dominican woman whose father is Chinese: his family immigrated via Cuba. There are several Dominicans of Chinese or part Chinese origin in public life, with surnames like Ng.

Mu Kien Sang Ben is a well-known historian here. I've met her and she is as Dominican as they come but her ethnicity is 100% Chinese.

Most Chinese people, however, appear to be in business, and many are fairly recent arrivals. There is a cluster of Chinese businesses in the areas designated as Chinatown, but also on Avenida Romulo Betancourt in the newer part of the city.

We have some friends who are Hong Kong Chinese, and first generation immigrants to the DR. I don't know which parts of China people are from, but there are definitely some Taiwanese. Many FTZ factories are Taiwanese owned and managed.

To sum up there is a small but visible Chinese presence, as well as people of part Chinese origin.

In other Caribbean islands (English-speaking) some Chinese were brought over as 'coolies' to work in the sugar industry. I don't know what brought the Chinese to the DR, but as has been mentioned above there is a Chinese community in practically every Latin American country. They probably migrated for the usual reasons - the search for new economic opportunities.

Hope this helps.
 
Apr 26, 2002
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Yes, Joel, the Chinese community is real and not a historical shadow (like New York's "Little Italy", which, ironically, but for a few restaurants has been taken over by the expanding New York "Chinatown"). In fact, if you look at the list of victims of flight 587, you will see many Chinese Dominican names.

When you are in Sto Dgo, you should check it out. Chinatown is centered at Avenida Duarte and Avenida Mexico.

BTW, many Chinese Cubans went to New York and opened restaurants affectionately known as "Chino-Latino" because they serve both Chinese and Latin dishes.
 

bienamor

Kansas redneck an proud of it
Apr 23, 2004
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Don't remember where

Porfio_Rubirosa said:
Yes, Joel, the Chinese community is real and not a historical shadow (like New York's "Little Italy", which, ironically, but for a few restaurants has been taken over by the expanding New York "Chinatown"). In fact, if you look at the list of victims of flight 587, you will see many Chinese Dominican names.

When you are in Sto Dgo, you should check it out. Chinatown is centered at Avenida Duarte and Avenida Mexico.

BTW, many Chinese Cubans went to New York and opened restaurants affectionately known as "Chino-Latino" because they serve both Chinese and Latin dishes.

Don't remember where it is but a few years ago in the northren part of Santo Domingo there was a housing area that had the Street signs redone in Chinese Characters. Large Housing area
 

juancarlos

Bronze
Sep 28, 2003
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joel pacheco said:
I've reread some biographic information on Batista, several sources claim he was part Chinese. Why do you think he was not?

I have Batista described as being part white, part black, part indian, and part Chinese.

Because of racial attitudes of the Cuban Elite, Batista's ethnic back ground kept him from joining a popular and elite yacht club in Havana.

Perhaps Cuba's Chinese community has dwindled away, but what is the state of the Dominican born Chinese community today? Is it any better than Cuba's?

I agree with other posters, try to preserve the art deco facades that are left.

Yes, Batista has been described as being everything you mentioned. The reason some described him as being part Chinese is they did not think it was likely he had indian blood. In Cuba, however, they never mentioned any Chinese ancestry and I read some biographies of Batista when I lived there under Castro. The part of Cuba where he came from is one of the few places in the island where the native genes are still in evidence, mixed with Spanish or black or both. In Cuba, Batista was also known as "el indio", but the reason he was rejected by the Cuban elite was because of the black ancestry he was reputed to have. However, Batista did not look particularly black, he looked like he had a lot of indian blood, he had straight hair and other native american facial features, as well as Spanish, but he was regarded as mulato. Ironically, I think Batista was the synthesis of what Cubans should have looked like. Most Cubans did not look like him, though. Now, there were many Chinese in Cuba at one time, many emigrated to the USA or simply died in Cuba. From what I've heard, there is a lively Chinese community in the DR today. There are also many Chinese in Panama and Costa Rica. Havana used to have a very active Chinatown which included Chinese language newspapers, movie theaters and even a cemetary. Only a few full-blooded or native born Chinese remain, plus a few of mixed ancestry.
Many Chinese took part in Cuba's war of independence, those who arrived in the 19th century were brought to work in sugar cane plantations to replace slave work. During the 20th century, the modern Chinese community established itself in Cuba. They popularized arroz frito and la charada china, a number system which people used to play the lottery. They all engaged in commerce, from food stores to cleaners and restaurants. Castro confiscated all of them.