In the Parque de la China in Clavería there is a melon-colored kiosk in the center, cobblestone paths to walk on, handrails to play on, and on the side a statue dedicated to Clavería's most famous and beloved chintololo: José José. But in this park there are, above all, neighbors who frequent it (and the promise of a happy walk for those of us who are not from there).
We like the Parque de la China for its patches of almost jungle-like vegetation, full of tiger claws, bamboos and monsteras that clash with the other flora of the city, and make thick shadows that have a life of their own. We also like the tall, peeling eucalyptus trees that surround it and are often the topic of conversation among visitors, either because they are a pest species, because they nest for mosquitoes or because the smell of their bark brings back childhood memories.
The particular vegetation of Parque de la China is due to the fact that the land it occupies belonged to the Matsumoto family, the family of florists who brought jacarandas to the city. It turns out that this was one of their nurseries (another was what is now Unidad Independencia), and it was they themselves who named it Bosque de la China, later renamed Parque de la China.
On weekends there is always something going on. Every Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Capital Verde market is set up in the park's aisles , offering excellent quality products at very fair prices. There are muscular and slightly deformed teenagers climbing bars to exhaustion, boy scouts blindly taking orders, and a Sunday-faced audience just watching from the benches.
In 2012 some neighbors got together to make a bronze statue of José José, who spent his childhood days there, and in his youth walked, at a melancholy pace, all the streets of the neighborhood... from serenade to serenade. The statue bears an inscription that reaffirms the role of the neighbors here: "Promoted by Cuauhtémoc Sánchez Vázquez and Ricardo Nava Rueda on behalf of all his admirers" and a thank you to the sponsors, among them Nicos and Mesón Taurino; two chintololos and favorites of ours.
In fact, we arrived at Parque de la China one Saturday at noon almost by chance. We were taken there by a long waiting list to eat at the Nicos(we sat on one of the benches to drink a beer half on the sly and to eat peanuts to hold our hunger). We like the Parque de la China because it awakens in those who discover it a delicious suspicion. Because it has that local taste of a place that is known by word of mouth. And that you don't forget... as you could forget, conveniently, who showed it to you for the first time.
.gares and not so spectacular....
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