Projects: El Barrio Chino

Before the Cuban Revolution, Barrio Chino was the largest Chinatown in all of Latin America. Today, the neighborhood is a mere glimpse from its early years. There are roughly 300 Chinese-born Cubans that live on the island.

The Chinese came to Cuba in three waves.

First, as sugarcane laborers in the mid-19th century; second, as immigrants fleeing anti-Chinese sentiment in California in the late 19th century; and third, as people fleeing political and economic persecution in China in the early 20th century. They left their homeland for a better life only to find themselves in the transition of another revolution.