Many people do not realize that a cultural phenomenon has revolved around square dancing in Houston for almost seventy years. Square dance is a folk dance with four couples positioned in a square. Couples 1 and 3 are known as head couples, and couples 2 and 4 are known as side couples. A caller, who […]
For over seventy years the River Oaks Theater has operated at 2009 West Gray in Houston’s affluent River Oaks community. Although the theater has changed over the years, it remains an integral part of Houston, the city’s culture and history, and of the movie industry in the second half of the twentieth century. The River […]
In the 1940s, young Irma González Galvan moved with her family from Brownsville, Texas to Houston’s Second Ward. As children, Irma’s brothers shined shoes, while Irma and her sister worked at their school cafeteria and neighboring bakeries in order to help their mother. These early experiences, combined with later work in retail, and the desire […]
Robert L. Waltrip founded the National Museum of Funeral History in 1992 in order to “educate the public and preserve the heritage of death care.” Waltrip’s family founded the Heights Funeral Home in Houston, Texas, and Waltrip became director upon his father’s untimely death. He expanded the business, Service Corporation International, into what is today […]
Houston: Nuestra Historia Vol. 9, No. 1 (Fall 2011) Download PDF Letter from Guest Editor Natalie Garza 2 La Colonia Mexicana: A History of Mexican Americans in Houston by Jesus Jesse Esparza 9 Trailblazers in Houston’s East End: The Impact of Ripley House and the Settlement Association on Houston’s Hispanic Population by Thomas […]
By Jesus Jesse Esparza In 1836 newcomers from the United States along with their Tejano (Texas Mexicans) allies, took up arms against the Mexican government and successfully seceded from that nation. Following the Battle of San Jacinto, which ended the Texas Revolution, Texians (Anglo Texans) ordered Mexican prisoners to clean the swampland on which Houston […]
Lydia Mendoza was born in Houston Heights on May 21, 1916, to parents who had fled the Mexican Revolution. Rising to fame in the 1930s in the Southwest United States, Mendoza became known as the Queen of Tejano and the first icon of Mexican American pop culture. Despite her popularity at the time, discrimination against […]
“The mission of Talento Bilingüe de Houston is to educate all by preserving, presenting and promoting Latino culture. Founded in 1977 as a small troupe known as “Teatro Bilingüe de Houston” (Bilingual Theater of Houston), this non-profit organization has evolved into a Latino Cultural Arts Center that offers a year-round series of performing arts and […]
Kafah Bachari Manna describes her life growing up Iranian American.Post-9/11, Americans frequently questioned her about her Muslim faith rather than her background. As a result, she co-founded the Pink Iftar Movement, an organization, which holds interfaith dinners for women of multiple backgrounds to bridge the gap between faiths.
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