Let's walk through Buenos Aires' Chinatown [ENG|ESP]

I've mentioned before that one of the things I like most about big cities is the cultural diversity and the representation of other countries on their streets. A clear example of this is New York City—not for nothing is it called "the capital of the world"—where, in addition to everything typically American, you can also find large, well-identified foreign communities in places like the Spanish Harlem, Chinatown, and Little Italy, among others. >En otras ocasiones he mencionado que una de las cosas que más me gusta de las ciudades grandes es la diversidad cultural y la representación que tienen otros países en sus calles. Un claro ejemplo de esto es la ciudad de Nueva York - que no por nada es llamada _"la capital del mundo"_ - en dónde además de todo lo típicamente norteamericano también pueden encontrarse comunidades extranjeras numerosas bien identificadas en espacios como el barrio latino, Chinatown o Little Italy, entre otros. In Venezuela, at least in the city where I grew up, such spaces didn't exist. The closest thing was perhaps downtown Barquisimeto, with several blocks of businesses owned by Chinese or Syrian nationals—depending on how far from the center we were—but the aesthetics weren't special, nor were there any Asian food places very representative of those other cuisines. That's why I was always drawn to those New York spaces I saw in TV shows and movies, and when I was in Buenos Aires and heard that there was a Chinatown there, I didn't hesitate for a moment to visit. To be completely honest, Chinatown in the Argentine capital isn't a neighborhood—it's just about five blocks of commerce—nor is it very Chinese—the greatest Asian influence in the area comes from Taiwan—but it does have a lot of charm from the moment you arrive at its entrance. To get there, you have to go to the Belgrano neighborhood, near Barrancas Park and the Belgrano C train station. A couple of blocks from there is the Arch that serves as the entrance, a very striking and decorative element that has been the subject of controversial discussions regarding the irregularity of the donation by the Chinese government and of complaints from the local community, who, while mostly Asian, are not Chinese but Taiwanese. That being the case, do you think it's inappropriate to call the place "Chinatown"? Don't you find it a bit racist? >En Venezuela, al menos en la ciudad en la que crecí, no existían espacios así. Lo más parecido tal vez era el centro de Barquisimeto con varias cuadras de comercios pertenecientes a ciudadanos de nacionalidad china o siria - dependiendo de a qué altura del centro nos encontráramos - pero la estética no era especial ni había lugares de comida asiática muy representativos de esas otras gastronomías. Por eso, siempre me llamaron la atención esos espacios de Nueva York que veía en las series y películas y cuando estuve en Buenos Aires y me enteré de que existía un barrio chino, o sea una _Chinatown_, no dudé un instante en acercarme al lugar. Siendo estrictamente fieles a la verdad, el Barrio Chino de la capital argentina no es ni un barrio - son apenas unas cinco cuadras de comercio - ni muy chino - la mayor influencia asiática del sector proviene de Taiwán - pero sí tiene muchísimo encanto desde que uno llega a su entrada. Para llegar allí hay que ir hasta el barrio de Belgrano, a la altura del Parque Barrancas, cerca de donde está la estación de trenes Belgrano C. A un par de cuadras de allí se encuentra el Arco que sirve de entrada, un elemento muy vistoso y decorativo que ha sido objeto de polémicas discusiones en cuanto a la irregularidad de la donación por parte del gobierno de China y de reclamo por parte de la comunidad del sector que, si bien son asiáticos, la mayoría de ellos no son chinos sino taiwaneses. Siendo así, ¿les parece inapropiado llamar al lugar _Barrio Chino_? ¿no lo encuentran un poco racista?  |  --- | ---  |  Upon entering the portico, you'll find five blocks of highly commercialized shops, where you can find everything from decorative items to traditional dishes from China, Korea, Japan, and other Asian countries, as well as a host of decorations with symbols and motifs alluding to those cultures. Dragons, pandas, red lanterns, murals, and sculptures abound... in some ways, it's a bit like entering a television set or one of those pavilions sometimes found at international fairs, where cultural clichés abound. >Al atravesar el pórtico uno se encuentra con cinco cuadras muy comerciales en donde se pueden conseguir desde artículos decorativos hasta platos típicos de China, Corea, Japón y otros países asiáticos, además de un montón de decoraciones con símbolos y motivos alusivos a esas culturas. Abundan los dragones, los osos pandas, las lámparas rojas, murales, esculturas... en ciertos aspectos es un poco como entrar a un set de televisión o a uno de esos pabellones que hay a veces en las ferias internacionales en donde abundan los clichés culturales. It's true that if you just go for a stroll, the walk is pretty quick. But the ideal thing, I think, is to stop every so often, go into the places, and see what's on offer in their windows. Despite the name, you can find places alluding to different countries on the Asian continent, and you can take the opportunity to discover or enjoy a bit of each one. For example, there are manga and anime stores, but also K-pop-themed merchandise, and Chinese decorative items alluding to Buddhism and Taoism. You can eat ramen, sushi, k-dogs, and drink bubble tea, but there are also burger and beer stores and pizza parlors. That is to say, if you have enough time and a lot of curiosity, the five blocks are enough to spend an entire afternoon unlike anything you can do in the rest of Buenos Aires, having a coffee or exploring the different murals, including the iconic Mei and Suri mural (which appears several times in this post), whose beautiful and interesting story can be found online. Beyond the beauty of the drawing, there's a reason for each element that appears in the painting.