Waiting at the front desk of the Community Music Center, I see a small Chinese woman with short hair — blue, purple and green hair. She carries a bag stuffed with papers and other things.
“I’m Betty Wong,” she says, and asks me to join her in the office of the director, who offers his space for our interview. There’s a piano, and Wong sits and begins playing a piece by the Argentine musician Astor Piazzolla. When she finishes, she tells me, “This is just for me; I just started learning Piazzolla three years ago.”
Wong, who teaches traditional Chinese music at the Community Music Center on Capp Street, was born and raised in Chinatown, but she’s lived in the Mission for so long, she says, it “feels like home.” Nowadays her favorite food is chile rellenos.
She started learning piano as a child, but rediscovered the traditional music of her parents after turning 30. At the time, the best places to hear and learn traditional Chinese music were the basement clubs in Chinatown — bohemian dens where musicians would go to smoke, drink and play music.
Against her parents’ will, Wong and her sister joined them. Who knew that years later she would live here, learning salsa and teaching Chinese music?
