The history of Filipinos in the southern United States stretches back to the mid-eighteenth century, when burgeoning trade routes between the two lands encouraged small numbers of Filipino migrants to settle in some of their first enclaves in the Americas.
Walking into the George R. Brown Convention Center for the Navratri festival, I am whisked away by the South Asian culture – the vibrant colors, the smell of Indian food, the garba music, and conversations in my native tongue.
My wife, D’Arcy, had her birthday dinner at Bombay Sweets Restaurant in the Little India District of Houston in 2010. While driving down Hillcroft Avenue, we noticed new toppers adorning the neighborhood street signs proclaiming, “Mahatma Gandhi District,” complete with a small engraving of the revered Indian leader. “Wait—when did that get there? Is this […]
Texas Guandi Temple is a site for the practice of millennia-old religious traditions and celebrations, but it is also a testament to the sacrifice, survival, and heroism of earthly people who chose Houston as their home. Visiting the Texas Guandi Temple is a step through the looking glass, a journey into a mystical world that […]
In a world full of customs offices and immigration departments, where borders and national identities play powerful roles, thousands of individuals experience similar crises and conflicts, and joys and frustrations, no matter where they live around the globe. Although the commonality of these experiences often goes unrecognized by politicians and policy-makers, the Houston-based non-profit organization […]
From some perspectives, Asia Society Texas’s building of understated scale and even-tempered disposition, designed by world-renowned Japanese architect Yoshio Taniguchi, calmly melds into a tree-lined residential neighborhood within Houston’s Museum District. Contrastingly, the modernist facade features walls of glass bisected by an infinity water garden terrace where steam vapors rise capriciously from its roofline.
Not content with the status quo and lacking an organization to represent them, a small group of thirty Taiwanese women from the United States and Canada formed what became the North America Taiwanese Women’s Association (NATWA) in March of 1988. A non-profit run primarily by volunteers, NATWA created a nongovernmental organization to address major issues […]
In 1899 Edward Wilbur Hayes left his home, Big Sandy in Upshur County, Texas, to attend Wiley College, walking sixty-two miles to Marshall, the location of the Methodist Episcopal school and Historical Black College/University, founded in 1873. His parents, former slaves and sharecroppers Peter and Caroline Hays, barely made enough money to feed their large […]
In May 1957, Maria Jimenez arrived in Houston, having just left her native Coahuila in Mexico to reunite with her father. Her family settled in a small Magnolia Park home near Maria’s school, Franklin Elementary. There, as a first grader, she experienced her first dose of anti-Mexican sentiments. Within the halls, classrooms, and playgrounds, school […]
The decedents of Felix A. Fraga and Angela Zamarron became business owners, judges, and elected officials, all well known in the East End and the larger Houston area. Growing up, I had heard bits and pieces of our family’s history, but some of the stories seemed to be hearsay. It became my mission to paint […]
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