The positive energy of Francisco Choy
April 7th, 2009If he’s working, you can’t miss seeing Francisco Choy on the main street of Lima’s Chinatown. If you don’t see his red booth with “Horoscopo Chino” painted in black letters, you’ll at least have to skirt around the dozen or so people crowding around it, straining to hear his words. Francisco has been telling fortunes, advising on spiritual matters and selling Chinese spiritual goods in Lima for the last thirteen years.
Born in Peru of a father from Guangdong and a second-generation Chinese-Peruvian mother, Francisco himself is likely in his forties, with long shoulder-length hair and balding on top. When I saw him last week, he was wearing a white button-down tucked into jeans and a pair of magnetic bracelets – like the ones he sells for ten and fifteen soles a piece – on both wrists.
There were other Chinese spiritual goods and knickknacks on sale: gold Buddha sculptures, felt posters with calligraphy, ginger in plastic bags, fake jade, dolphin wind chimes made out of blue glass. Incense smoke blew across the fifteen people crowding around the booth, making this section of Calle Capon smell like the inside of a Chinese temple.
Francisco would press his thumb into the customer’s palm and immediately began speaking – “There is a big financial opportunity coming for you,” or “Be on the lookout for love.” He’d speak for a minute or two, quickly. He had a silver engraved bowl that he would strike with a stick when the reading was finished, making circles around the readee’s face with it. Then, he’d ring a bell, holding his palm out in front of him, eyes shut. Both he and the customer would open their eyes and he’d dispense change for the transaction. Three soles (US$1) for your future told.
When I checked back with the booth three hours later, the group had swollen to thirty. Business was good.
The video above, care of the Lima newspaper El Comercio, is a little more than a year old. In it, Francisco introduces himself and talks about the then-upcoming Chinese New Year (Year of the Rat). It is now, of course, a “niu year,” but Francisco and his business haven’t changed too much in the meantime. Enjoy!
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