Things to do / Travel Guide
Aside from than the populations of the Dallas Metroplex and El Paso, the majority of Texans live in southeast Texas, in the cities of Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Corpus Christi, and Brownsville, and the area in between them. There are about 16 million people living in the region.
Latin Americans
Hispanic people are the fastest-growing ethnic group in the region. The areas around and including San Antonio and Corpus Christi are predominately Latin American, and a great many families here speak Spanish as a first language. Most Latin Americans here are not immigrants, but are in fact descended from the Mexicans who lived in Texas when it was still a part of Mexico. As a consequence, Texas Mexicans, or Tejanos, have a unique culture of their own. This culture can be seen and experienced in the cuisine, the music, and hospitality of the folk living in the areas of San Antonio and Corpus Christi.
African Americans
Only New York State has a larger African American population than Texas, with 2.5 million living in the state. Most of these live in the area around Houston, and the rural areas near the Louisiana border. Like the Tejanos, most of these African Americans in southeast Texas can trace their ancestry far back into the history of Texas to the pre-Civil War days, in this case of plantations and cotton fields. Texas actually has its own holiday, called Juneteenth (June 19th), commemorating the day the slaves learned of their emancipation, which was months after the end of the Civil War. They are well noted for their cultural contributions to Texas music and cuisine.
Cajuns
Cajuns have long since spilled over the Louisiana border into the region, and they have brought their culture to the mainstream, particularly in the east and in Houston. Music and culinary traditions have greatly influenced Texan culture. Their famous food is widely available throughout the region.
Germans and Czechs
Central Texas (the Hill Country region) is still predominantly Germanic and Czech. Since these Eurpeans came over a century ago, the dialect of German spoken here is peculiar, as it has not adopted new words for technology and instead uses English words, having been cut off from mainstream German speakers. A German newspaper still has wide circulation in the area, and many travelers marvel at hearing native speakers of German with an odd Texan accent.
Asians
Texas has the third-largest Asian population in the United States, and most of the Asian people in the state live in southeast Texas. The largest subgroup is the Vietnamese, who live either in the coastal fishing towns along the lower Gulf Coast, or in Houston. Houston has a significantly-sized “Little Saigon,” which doubles as a tourist draw. The city also has notable Indian, Chinese, and Korean populations, all of which have large ethnic neighborhoods that add greatly to the cultural richness of the city. Because of the U.S. Naval bases, Corpus Christi is home to many Filipinos, mostly either retired U.S. Navy personnel who joined in the Philippines, or their descendants. Some of the Filipinos are now fourth-generation Texans. The most famous Texan Filipino is Hollywood actor Lou Diamond Phillips, famous for playing in such films as “La Bamba” and “Courage Under Fire.”
Southeast Texas is a big place, and the ethnic makeup of its inhabitants is pretty diverse. The Caucasian population is comprised of the descendants of Virginians and others from the original 13 Colonies. But there are three major groups of people that stand out and deserve special mention:
Cajun
The eastern side of southeast Texas, close as it is to nearby Louisiana, has many people of Cajun ancestry. As such, the traditions of Zydeco and Cajun music are as accessible in the small towns along the Gulf of Mexico as they are in New Orleans. These tunes originated in southwest Louisiana and only relatively-recently arrived in New Orleans, but it has long been established in East Texas. It is difficult to describe the sound to the newcomer, but Zydeco is a blend of French accordion, country, Latin, blues, and more recently, rock music. Where you can find Cajuns you can also find Mardi Gras. Port Arthur and Galveston may not be as famous for Mardi Gras as New Orleans, but many people of Cajun ancestry have exciting celebrations in their city centers.
German and Central European
The Texas Hill Country is home to strong German and Central European communities, which are over 150 years old. The best examples of these are towns like New Braunfels and Fredericksburg, and they still preserve the old traditions of European beer and food. Less than an hour's drive from San Antonio or Austin, these communities are an exciting getaway. The quaint and friendly towns inspire visions of post-Napoleonic Central Europe, rather than the American Southwest. Tourists from other parts of Texas flock here on the weekends to the bed and breakfasts (B&Bs) to escape the cities and soak up a quiet European-style vacation.
Tejano
Southeast Texas contains some of the oldest cities in Texas, especially San Antonio and Corpus Christi, which are the heart of Tejano culture. Tejanos are Texans of Mexican ancestry and can trace their roots in this region to the days when it was still a jewel of the Spanish Empire. Travelers from even other parts of the state are often shocked to find the prominence of the Spanish language in use in southeast Texas. Billboards and signs are often in Spanish, and the locals speak their own dialect of the language. Also, you will often hear even English-speaking locals saying “Bueno-bye” on their cell phones when they end a conversation. Tejano is also almost synonymous with the cowboy culture, and long before there was a genre called country music the Tejano locals could be heard singing their lonesome ballads around campfires on cold starry night.
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