Personal File
Name： Maestro Roberto Vargas Lee
Chinese Name： Li RongfuNationality： CubanOccupation： Coach， Businessman
Time in China： 1 years
The first time he came to China， he hadthe feeling of coming home. He loves drinkingoolong tea， practicing Taiji， and listening to theguqin （a seven-stringed plucked instrument）。 Helooks like a foreigner， but has a Chinese heart.
He is Roberto from Cuba.
27 0 A tall foreign-looking man is wearing a Chinese-style suit.
He has a high-bridged nose and blue eyes but speaks fluent mandarin.
I was stunned to see him and listen to him speak. His name is MaestroRoberto Vargas Lee， but he introduces himself as a Chinese fromCuba.
One eighth of his blood is Chinese. His Chinese name is LiRongfu， which sounds like a shop boss’s name. This name actuallyfits his identity — he is chief of the Cuba Wushu Association. You cansee some of the toughness of the Caribbean and some of the eleganceof Spain in him. At the conference， Li Rongfu is the only “ForeignChinese” among all 500 representatives. He writes notes in black inkand the notes are both in Chinese and Spanish. What a combination！
He drinks oolong tea， practices Taiji， listens to the guqin and believesin Lord Guan… The 41-year-old Li Rongfu points at his ownface and says with pride： “I may not look Chinese outside， but inside Iam completely a Chinese person. From Karate to Martial ArtsLi Rongfu grew up on the shore of the Caribbean Ocean， but it isin his genes to love traditional Chinese culture. His restaurant is namedTian Tan Restaurant after the Chinese-made essential balm brand， alsoTian Tan （the Temple of Heaven）。 The only two Chinese chefs in all ofChina Town work in his restaurant. Many important politicians havevisited his restaurant， including Castro himself. Even Chinese leaderstasted their dishes when they visited Cuba. The Cuban law states thatprivate restaurants can receive no more than 12 customers at a sametime. Usually a private restaurant only has five small tables， and peoplewill have to wait outside when there are too many customers. Buthis restaurant is far too famous. Because there are always importantcustomers coming to eat， the government just lets it be.
272 Li Rongfu started to practice Karate when he was 12 years old.
Once， the Chinese Ambassador saw his excellent Karate performanceand after the performance an official went to meet him and ask him ifhe knew about Wushu （martial arts）。
Li Rongfu shook his head.
“It is same as kung fu， Wushu and kung fu are the same thing. Because of Bruce Lee’s movies， Li Rongfu had known aboutkung fu since he was a small boy. In Cuba， the most mysterious kungfu was brought into Cuba by Chinese people from Canton. He hadheard of the Red Fist， and the Choy Lay Fut， but those martial artswere all really old， and the Cantonese weren’t willing to teach peoplefrom other communities. The so-called Chinese martial arts were actuallyvery rare in Cuba.
“Wushu…” Li Rongfu repeated this strange word again andagain. Later， the Chinese Embassy helped him to get an exchange opportunityand sent him to study martial arts at the Beijing Sports University.
“It was miracle. The first time I came to China， I had the feelingof coming home，” Li Rongfu remembered. He traveled to many placesin China including the holy center of martial arts — Shaolin Temple.
He thinks Henan Province is really beautiful， and its capital cityZhengzhou is pretty too. On the Lücheng Square in Zhengzhou， eventhe little children know about Castro and socialist Cuba， Li Rongfuthinks it is great.
When talking about China， Li Rongfu always feels like he’s talkingabout his own hometown. Shaolin Temple is in the north， and WudangMountain is in the south. He thinks it’s a pity that he has neverbeen to Wudang Mountain before. When he heard that some foreignersare learning martial arts in the Taoism Mountain Wudang， Li Rongfusees hopes and wants to join them immediately.
Karate and Wushu are two completely different martial arts. OnceLi Rongfu started practicing Wushu， he gradually lost interest in Karate.
He says he likes Wushu more， because its purpose is not only tofight， it also contains some philosophical ideas.
There Is No Diploma for Taiji“Did you realize that the posture and gaze of people who practiceWushu are different from normal people？” Li Rongfu reminds me，“People who practice Wushu sit more steadily and they are calmer. Looking carefully at him， it is true that he looks healthy， sitssteadily， and he behaves calmly.
At the Fourth Conference for Friendship of Overseas ChineseAssociation， this blue-eyed Chinese raised his hand several times andhoped to speak， but did not succeed because there were too many peoplein front of him. He was sitting in the last row. Although he raised274 his hand high， no one paid attention to him. But this did not affect hismood. He was patient. Once he got a chance， he would try his best toget it.
“I was not very patient before I began to practice Taiji. After Istarted， I felt that I was calmer， and my body was not stiff anymore. While he speaks， he assumes the starting position of Taiji.
In 1994， after 21 hours of flying， Li Rongfu came to Beijing andstarted his studies in the Wushu Department of Beijing Sports University.