THE SECOND WAVE

After completing the eight-year contract, most of the coolies were repatriated to their homeland, but some Chinese immigrants, having obtained their freedom, settled permanently in Cuba. The first registered Chinese, settled in Havana in 1858, are Chang Leng that owned a small inn, and Lam Siu Yi that had a vegetable stand on the current Avenida Zanja.

The growing Chinese community in Havana began to settle around the current Zanja street, because Zanja Real (Royal Ditch), that supplied drinking water to Old Havana, was passing through this area. Some of these people were working in the fields, but some of the Chinese immigrants succeeded also to open their own business, like street vending, restaurants and laundries, or they worked in factories and in domestic services. The common feature of these Asian immigrants was their hard work.

The Chinese community increased over time and began to develop a distinct community, thus the so-called El Barrio Chino (Chinatown) emerged in the area that was initially bordered by the Reina street (current Simón Bolívar street), the San Martin street, Avenida de Italia (current Galiano) and Belascoaín (current Padre Varela street). About 10.000 Chinese were living in 40-45 blocks here, constituting almost a town. Small commercial establishments, like warehouses for retail sale of food, dried fish and poultry, pharmacies that sell exclusive products of the traditional Chinese medicine, laundries, shoe repairers, restaurants, inns were lined up along the Zanja street, the heart of the Chinatown, but the typical Chinese that resisted the Cuban culture, were residing on the Dragones street.

Although the working conditions in Cuba were poor, this did not affect the entry of Chinese workers into the country in later years, so that by 1870, the number of the Chinese in the island reached more than 40.000. There were also Chinese groups that came freely to the island on their own initiative from the US, especially from California.

In the period of 1848 and 1873 the number of the Chinese immigrants in the US was roughly equal to the number of the Chinese immigrants in Cuba. The discovery of gold in the mountains on the Pacific coast of California and the new transcontinental railroad through the high mountain reaches are the reasons why these people preferred the US. However, the dream of Gold Rush ended with frustration, the intended railroads were completed in 1869 and, soon after, the financial crisis of 1873 led to the rise of the anti-Chinese discrimination, so that the violence against the Asians accelerated under cover of the anti-Asian exclusion laws that were being put forward in many states. These people that were escaping from racist practice in the US at the time, came to the island with the hope of finding a favorite country where they could also invest. This migration, which took place in waves, continued from 1865 until 1875 and it is estimated that about 5.000 Chinese entered the island, mostly travelling through Mexico or departing from the port of New Orleans.

These Chinese, particularly coming from California, were mostly from a different class than the coolies that made up the vast majority of the contracted labor in the sugar cane plantations at that time. They were largely traders and merchants, so that with their arrival, the Chinatown of Havana underwent a major change and it began to be transformed into a center of trade, commerce, and banking that rapidly became second in the Americas only to San Francisco’s Chinatown.

Thus, a petty Chines bourgeoisie emerged from these well-off Chinese immigrants that were importers and financiers, as well as owners of shop of all kinds like wineries with exotic goods, shoe stores, fruit stands, restaurants, etc., where the free coolies were employed. In 1870 the first shop that was importing Asian products, was opened by the bankers Ley Wong, Youy Shan and Long Tong. In the same year, the Casa Con San, the second largest Chinese trading house, was established with a capital of 50.000 pesos. It was located outside of Chinatown.

By the end of the 1880s, some wealthy Chinese invested capital in sugar production and its trade. They owned two sugar cane mills in Las Villas, one in Sagua la Grande and another in Santo Domingo. According the census in 1899, the number of the Chinese plantations reached 42.

On the other hand, some Chinese took up some other business, like the prostitution sector. They were importing the women from China and the US. The drug traffic was also active in the Chinatown at the end of the 19th century. In 1878, a shop dedicated to the importation of opium and its products for consumption, was opened with the name of Hay Lay Hon y Cía on the Galiano street #116.

In the 1870s, one of the greatest entertainments of the Chinese people was the theater. The first Chinese theater was opened on the Zanja street where it intersects with the San Nicolás street. Later it was transformed into a cinema with the name El Pacifico. In 1875, the Sun Yon Theater was inaugurated on the Lealtad street where in intersects with the Reina street. It was followed by the Chinese Theater on the Zanja street that later was transformed into the Shanghai Theater. The most important Chinese theater of the time was the Golden Eagle, located on Rayo street #104. Chinese opera performers from California staged here frequently.

The first Chinese restaurant in Havana was opened on the Dragones street #40 in 1874. It served Chinese dishes, imported from California. However, the Chinese meal was not preferred by the Cubans, as they were accustomed to the taste of their traditional meal.

The Chinese residents developed several community organizations and social clubs. The Union (Kit Yi Tong) arose in 1867, purposing the unity of all the Chinese residents in Havana. It was followed by the Brothers (Hen Yi Tong) in 1868 and by the Society of the Three Brothers (San He Hui) in 1887. The latter is the antecedent of Hongmen Min Chih Tang Society, known as Chee Kung Tong until 1946. The most popular Chinese organization is the Chung Wah Casino, founded in Sagua la Grande, a municipality of the province Villa Clara, located on its north coast, in 1893. Chung Wah Casino responded to the needs of fraternity and protection of the Chinese immigrants while establishing a common space to reproduce the cultural and ethnic identity of its members. It is considered the oldest of the Cuban casinos in the island. In recent decades, the Chung Wah Casino has acted as a representative center for the Chinese community in Cuba, preserving the relationship of existing societies in the country and guarding the Chinese cemetery, the Kwong Wah Po newspaper, the Chinese-language weekly that still publishes in Havana,  and the Chinese pharmacy. In 2006, the national character of the casino was declared. The Chinese immigrants had also a theater in Sagua la Grande, established in 1876; however, it disappeared after a fire.