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Hong Kong Popular Culture pp 1–32Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Introduction

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Part of the book series: Hong Kong Studies Reader Series ((HKSRS))

Abstract

A documentary titled Havana Divas/Guba Huadan 古巴花旦 (2018)made headlines in various film review outlets. The film unmasks intriguing life stories of two Cuban ladies who acquired Cantonese opera singing skills from their Guangdong-origin parents—members of the non-ceasing and massive migrant flow in the late nineteenth century who departed from South China to North and South American countries. Brought to the land full of waving palm trees and sugarcanes from across the Pacific were thousands of cheap laborersand their folk culture originating in the South Chinacultural circle. Cantonese opera was the most popular leisure activity. Following the advancement of filming technology, Cantonese operasing-song filmbecame a dominant genre and, interestingly, this distinctive film genre turned out to be one of the earliest cultural products that generated border-crossing impact.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tisch School of the Arts, New York University, New York, NY, USA

    Klavier J. Wang

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  1. Klavier J. Wang
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Wang, K.J. (2020). Introduction. In: Hong Kong Popular Culture. Hong Kong Studies Reader Series. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8817-0_1

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