Members of Guadalajara’s Chinese community took their vibrant culture onto the streets of the city center this week in celebration of the Chinese New Year – the Year of the Monkey.
The center point for the festivities was a Chinese restaurant at the corner of Avenida Juarez and González Martínez. Athletic men adorned as colorful dragons thrilled passersby as they threaded their way along the sidewalk, accompanied by exponents of martial arts and drummers pounding out a steady beat. This stretch of Juarez is home to an assortment of Chinese restaurants, most owned and operated by immigrants from China. People born in the Year of the Monkey are characterized as lively, quick-witted, curious, innovative and mischievous, but it is also believed to be one of the most unlucky years in the Chinese calendar.