Raydis Franco practices kuaiban, a form of Chinese storytelling accompanied by bamboo clappers, at his home in north China's Tianjin, April 25, 2025. Spanish teacher Raydis Franco from Venezuela works at the School of Foreign Studies in Nankai University in Tianjin. He came to China on a cultural exchange program and started his seven-year study at Tianjin University in 2015. The past decade has turned this 36-year-old man a fluent speaker of Chinese.
Tianjin is dubbed a cradle for cross-talk, a traditional yet highly popular Chinese comedic art. Franco fell in love with this art and started to learn from professional performers and to practice what he has acquired via live performances at tea houses.
In 2023, Franco, already a faculty member at Nankai University, joined a promotion program for Tianjin cross-talk culture targeting the Spanish-speaking world. Together with his colleagues and students, Franco has endeavored to create some excellent cross-talk works into colloquial Spanish that integrate humor elements of both languages, and to circle them around the world through the Internet.
Franco hopes to study cross-talk in a more profound way for what he loves is not merely the cross-talk, but the rich history and culture of China. "By learning cross-talk, I feel closely linked to the Chinese culture," said Franco. (Xinhua/Li Ran)
Raydis Franco (L) poses for photos with Ma Xiaochuan, the grandson of Ma Sanli, a renowned cross-talk performer, in Dongli District of north China's Tianjin, April 24, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Ran)
Raydis Franco browses selections of cross-talk works of Ma Sanli, a renowned cross-talk performer, in Dongli District of north China's Tianjin, April 24, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Ran)
Raydis Franco (C) watches cross-talk performance at a tea house in Hongqiao District of north China's Tianjin, April 24, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Ran)
Raydis Franco watches cross-talk performance at a tea house in Hongqiao District of north China's Tianjin, April 24, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Ran)
Raydis Franco tries costumes for Tianjin cross-talk at his home in north China's Tianjin, April 25, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Ran)
Raydis Franco watches cross-talk performance at a tea house in Hongqiao District of north China's Tianjin, April 24, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Ran)
Raydis Franco (L) communicates with a professional cross-talk performer at a tea house in Hongqiao District of north China's Tianjin, April 24, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Ran)
Raydis Franco (L) communicates with a professional cross-talk performer at a tea house in Hongqiao District of north China's Tianjin, April 24, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Ran)
Raydis Franco gives a lecture at the School of Foreign Studies in Nankai University in north China's Tianjin, April 29, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Ran)
Cross-talk performer Wang Wenshui (R) teaches Raydis Franco to play kuaiban, a form of Chinese storytelling accompanied by bamboo clappers, at a tea house in Hongqiao District of north China's Tianjin, April 24, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Ran)
Raydis Franco takes photos of the statue of Ma Sanli, a renowned cross-talk performer, in Dongli District of north China's Tianjin, April 24, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Ran)