BUENOS AIRES, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) — Enthusiasts and spreaders of Chinese culture who practice martial arts, including young people and adolescents, rehearse with respect and care in Argentina the traditional dragon and lion dances, one of the most emblematic Chinese shows to welcome the Lunar New Year of the Horse.
These are the members of the Lung Chuan school, located in the San Cristóbal neighborhood, in the southern area of the city of Buenos Aires, who will participate next month in the festivities in the Argentine capital for the arrival of the Chinese New Year.
The practice, which requires physical and technical training, has captured the attention of more and more Argentines, especially young people and adolescents, among them Julián Quinodoz, 29, who explained in an interview with Xinhua his interest in Chinese culture in general and in Chinese martial arts in particular, which he began practicing a year ago.
“The first time I started was because my old man (father) had already been doing it a year ago and he told me to try a class. I was very attracted to the movements, how to express my body, how to exercise, I really like exercise and this strengthened me as well. And I kept trying the classes and the truth is that I liked it. I also really liked the community here,” said the young man.
He highlighted that the practice of martial arts in the institution has allowed us to form a “very nice community, we help each other, with a lot of respect and we are all like a family. I feel very comfortable here.”
The training sessions carried out showed dance, color and emotion, with rehearsals around the lion and dragon dances, which will seek on the weekend of February 8, during an event in the northern area of Buenos Aires, to ward off bad spirits and bring prosperity, abundance and fortune in the Year of the Horse.
Quinodoz recalled that he participated in last year’s celebrations. And he stressed that it was an “incredible experience, I didn’t expect it, I didn’t know how the whole thing worked and here they taught me and I was able to take part and the truth is that it was incredible.”
He valued, in particular, being able to be part of an event that “comes back thousands of years (…) is something incredible and being part of a martial art and contributing as much as I can is also something incredible, it is an experience that I love.”
Quinodoz highlighted, on the other hand, the benefits of Chinese martial arts for your health and well-being.
“Always, when we are training with my old man, we talk about this and it is something that we both plan in the future to continue doing it, because it is good for us as well as for the body and also for the mind,” he said.
The Lung Chuan school promotes martial arts all year round and has hours specifically dedicated to training dragon and lion dances, with the participation of different instructors, including Gabriel Trotta.
“For us, above all, it is an honor to represent Chinese culture through the training of the dragon and the lion (…), we develop intense practices to arrive with a very good level and respect for what is the Chinese New Year, which for us is very important,” declared the expert.
The interviewee told Xinhua that, together with his students, they are “proud to once again represent oriental culture here in Argentina. It is an honor for us to be chosen and we want to develop it in the best possible way. For this, we need training, discipline and respect above all throughout the year.”
For Argentines, the celebration of the Lunar New Year is an important date on the calendar and brings together people interested in the ancient Chinese culture and customs such as gastronomy, music, clothing and calligraphy, in addition to the traditional dragon and lion dances, which have become a bridge that unites the two peoples.
“We have developed and learned to teach Westerners the whole part of culture, training, responsibility, respect above all so that they understand, through training, what it means and the importance that the New Year that is yet to come has for the Chinese community in this case,” said Trotta.
The festivities planned in the Argentine capital will have as their epicenter the Chinatown of Buenos Aires, located in the capital district of Belgrano, and also the nearby Plaza Parques Nacionales Argentinos, both in the northern part of the city.
In addition, different celebrations will be held in other cities in the country such as La Plata, Córdoba, Salta, Jujuy and Tucumán.
