Visiting Chinese artists on Thursday staged a flashmob performance at the center of the Argentine capital as a warm up celebration for the upcoming Chinese lunar new year.[Special Coverage]
The performance used melodies mixing traditional Chinese music with the Argentine tango and attracted a large audience by the historical monument the Obelisk of Buenos Aires. The 30 performers are renowned artists from China's eastern province of Zhejiang.
This weekend, Buenos Aires is expected to kick off its annual celebrations leading up to the Chinese lunar new year, or Spring Festival that falls on Feb. 16 this year. Celebrations to be held at the Plaza of Argentine National Park will feature music, dance, acrobatics and Chinese martial arts, with Chinese food stands set up all around.
The Spring Festival celebrations used to be held in the local Chinatown, but the annual event's size has grown so large that it has to be relocated, said Adrian Varela, a city hall official, adding that the celebrations draw about 60,000 people every year.
Varela said the local Spring Festival celebrations display the city's "contribution to cultural integration and coexistence of various ethnic communities."
The Chinese delegation arrived in Argentina from neighboring Uruguay. The Chinese embassy's cultural attache Yang Chuanying said the delegation was sent by China's Ministry of Culture.
