By: Daniel Nardini
Last Saturday, April 30th, Cubans of all ages held a demonstration of Tai Chi exercises in celebration of World Tai Chi Day—a sort of holiday of the Chinese exercise Tai Chi. Over 200 Cuban practitioners of Tai Chi demonstrated their skills in Havana’s San Francisco Plaza. Tai Chi has been practiced in China and various other parts of Asia for centuries. Its origins go back 3,000 years, and there are millions of Tai Chi practitioners worldwide. Strangely enough, this form of exercise is recognized and popular in Cuba. It has been in fact popular in Cuba for decades.
Not many Americans may know it, but Havana has a Chinatown where the descendants of Chinese immigrants came to Cuba. Among the things they brought with them is Tai Chi. There are an estimated 5,000 practitioners of Tai Chi in Cuba—200 of them are recognized Cuban Tai Chi masters. In 1995, the Cuban School of Wushu was founded by Roberto Vargas Li. Since then this school has growjn in popularity. Like in many other countries, individual Cubans find Tai Chi useful for relaxation, self-discipline, and also finding inner peace.
Amateur practitioners of Tai Chi can be found throughout Cuba. Because of Cuba’s close relations with China, Chinese masters of Tai Chi go to Cuba to demonstrate their skills and secrets of how they learned various forms of Tai Chi. Over 70 countries worldwide, like Cuba, held celebrations for World Tai Chi Day.
World Tai Chi Day in Cuba
By: Daniel Nardini
Last Saturday, April 30th, Cubans of all ages held a demonstration of Tai Chi exercises in celebration of World Tai Chi Day—a sort of holiday of the Chinese exercise Tai Chi. Over 200 Cuban practitioners of Tai Chi demonstrated their skills in Havana’s San Francisco Plaza. Tai Chi has been practiced in China and various other parts of Asia for centuries. Its origins go back 3,000 years, and there are millions of Tai Chi practitioners worldwide. Strangely enough, this form of exercise is recognized and popular in Cuba. It has been in fact popular in Cuba for decades.
Not many Americans may know it, but Havana has a Chinatown where the descendants of Chinese immigrants came to Cuba. Among the things they brought with them is Tai Chi. There are an estimated 5,000 practitioners of Tai Chi in Cuba—200 of them are recognized Cuban Tai Chi masters. In 1995, the Cuban School of Wushu was founded by Roberto Vargas Li. Since then this school has growjn in popularity. Like in many other countries, individual Cubans find Tai Chi useful for relaxation, self-discipline, and also finding inner peace.
Amateur practitioners of Tai Chi can be found throughout Cuba. Because of Cuba’s close relations with China, Chinese masters of Tai Chi go to Cuba to demonstrate their skills and secrets of how they learned various forms of Tai Chi. Over 70 countries worldwide, like Cuba, held celebrations for World Tai Chi Day.