opened in 1993 and has grown since then, helping Chinese Cubans to strengthen their knowledge of the Chinese language. Today, Chinese Cubans tend to speak Mandarin, Cantonese, and Hakka in addition to Spanish and English and may speak in a mixture of Chinese and Spanish. They also promoted small businesses, like beauty parlors, mechanical shops, restaurants and small groceries, provided to them to create a view of Barrio Chino. Havana's Barrio Chino also experienced buildings of Chinese architecture and museum with backgrounds about China. As a result, the Chinese Cuban community has gained visibility. In literature and popular culture The influence of the Chinese migration to Cuba is thoroughly reflected in the novel The Island of Eternal Love by Cuban American author Daína Chaviano. Originally published in Spain as La isla de los amores infinitos, it has been translated into 25 languages. The plot covers 150 years, from the 1840s through the 1990s. A Cuban Chinese family engaged in international intrigue appears in William Gibson's Spook Country (2007). In the 2006 film Miami Vice, Gong Li portrays Isabella, a Chinese Cuban woman. Notable Chinese Cubans Fulgencio Batista, former president of Cuba Alfredo Abon Lee, commander of the pro-government forces during the Battle of Yaguajay Wifredo Lam, a painter of the Surrealist school Maikel Chang, professional association football (soccer) player Yat-Sen Chang, ballet dancer Lyen Wong, fitness athlete Anacaona, a pioneer of son music See also Asian Hispanic and Latino Americans Asian Latin Americans China–Cuba relations Chinatowns in Latin America Chinese Caribbeans Cubans Overseas Chinese References Further reading Hu-DeHart, Evelyn, and Kathleen López. "Asian Diasporas in Latin America and the Caribbean: An Historical Overview." Afro-Hispanic Review (2008): 9-21. in JSTOR López, Kathleen M. Chinese Cubans: A Transnational History (2013) López-Calvo, Ignacio. “Chinesism and the commodification of Chinese Cuban culture.” Alternative Orientalisms in Latin America and Beyond. Ed. Ignacio López-Calvo. Newcastle, England: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2007. 95-112. Meagher, Arnold J. The Coolie trade: the traffic in Chinese laborers to Latin America 1847-1874 (2008). Young, Elliott. Alien Nation: Chinese Migration in the Americas from the Coolie Era Through World War II (2014). Yun, Lisa. The Coolie Speaks: Chinese Indentured Laborers and African Slaves in Cuba (2008) Asian Cuban Chinese Caribbean Cuban Chinese Latin American Society of Cuba Ethnic groups in Cuba