Porcelain cats waved paws to solicit luck and fortune, as well as express best wishes for the customers coming to the Chinese-style fair inaugurated on November 27 in Tigre City, some 30 kilometers north to Argentine capital city Buenos Aires.
(Soundbite) Julio Zamora, Mayor of Tigre
“The center helps improve the cultural exchange between our city and China. It seems to me that this venue should serve to embrace and improve bi-cultural thinking for our community and future Argentina.”
While the dragon was hoisted into the shop, the keeper was blessed with a whole year’s benefits and strong luck, a tradition upheld by Chinese people but now blossoming in Argentina.
With the help of the local Chinese community in Buenos Aires and the China-Argentina Cultural Association, the new market established dozens of food and beverage outlets, handicraft stalls as well as cultural entertainment workshops to enrich the schedule of some five million visitors flocking to the city annually.
