The migration of acupuncture through the Imperium Hispanicum: Case studies from Cuba, Guatemala, and the Philippines

Abstract

This chapter examines the migration of the Chinese ‘cultural product’ of acupuncture to countries of the Imperium Hispanicum that have not, in general, experienced a marked influx of Chinese migrants and, in some cases such as Guatemala, experienced no Chinese migration at all to support such a cultural migration. Political economy; similarities of praxis; and revolutionary representations of universal health coverage are all factors that may help to explain the migration of acupuncture to Cuba, Guatemala, and the Philippines; all former colonies of the Spanish Empire. Forms of economic deprivation and structural violence directed towards a group – or as in the case of Cuba, towards an entire country – that thwarts access to healthcare, are also a common theme across these three case examples. However, by virtue of unique factors particular to a given time, place, and set of political, economic, and other social circumstances, each context may have been uniquely prepared to adopt and incorporate elements of Chinese medical practice into their local healthcare.