A burst of cultural mixing and excitement was on display H Street in Chinatown as the seventh annual Chinese New Year Parade got underway on Feb. 2.
As firecrackers sparked on the closed-off street, gated pavement onlookers awaited the sights of dragons, beauty queens, politicians, decorated warriors and percussionists.
A small stage sat before the division of H Street and 6th Street proudly presented the flags and public speakers. As crowds of spectators gathered around this alternative cultural Super Bowl celebration, shops and restaurants subdued the masses with East Asian culture. as the smells of Asian Cuisine and the sounds of Mandarin Chinese seeped into H Street.
As the parade began to make its way over the golden, red arch of Chinatown at 2 p.m., the crowd came to life as one could see colorful outfits scattered along H street’s pavement like a whip of colorful paint flown onto a canvas.
The parade seemed to have an unusual influx of political candidates and supporters. As candidates walked in the middle of the road in present sight, their supporters trailed along the backsides of the pavement standing crowds shouting for their beliefs and endorsements.
Along with this overload of political angst another classic parade commodity was not present during the celebration. Instead of candy, some parade officials handed out American and Taiwanese flags to wave.
With the entire crowd along with the parade’s participants waving solely Taiwanese and American flags there didn’t seem to be any visible Chinese influence on the parade.
While many of the signs and banners used the word “Chinese” on them, the parade looked more like a political demonstration then a cultural celebration, with the majority of people seaming to identify as Taiwanese instead of Chinese.
The lack of Chinese identity stood out during the parade, as one could wonder why the parade and neighborhood was marked under Taiwanese.
While D.C.’s Chinatown parade offered insight to East Asian culture with its dancing dragons and firecracker display at the end, it proved to be much different from many other parades of its kind.
