Event details

Synopsis

Houston is the most diverse and welcoming city for immigrants in the United States. It is considered the ethnic variety capital of the world, ahead of New York, Miami, London, or Paris. Today, over 100 ethnic groups from all over the world make up a kaleidoscope of different appearances; thousands of different faces, each with its own story.

Communities of Vietnamese, Koreans, English, Germans, Canadians, Ethiopians, Cubans, Indians, Arabs, Syrians, Nigerians, Pakistanis, Chinese, Venezuelans, Argentinians, Italians, French, Spaniards, Mexicans… form the human mosaic of the city.

In the 2015 census, the melting pot of people (2.303 million in 2016) in Houston consisted of: 43 percent Hispanics from any country; 26 percent non-Hispanic whites; 25 percent blacks from any country; and 6 percent Asians. Another 2016 census on the population of Houston born in the United States: 38.8% Anglos; 35.9% Hispanics; 16.7% African Americans; 8.3% Asians/others.

The theatrical proposal Houston: Diversity of the World stages the multi-ethnic melting pot that is Houston’s society, where cultures from all over the world coexist. The plot unfolds through two places: the personal stories of the city’s inhabitants and a journey through time thanks to the visit to the oldest and most emblematic buildings of the first Houston in 1900.

A walk devoid of theatrical adornments and artifices, the characters will make visible the true reason why humans move. Testimonies told up close and without scenic barriers, a proximity so intimate that attendees will feel part of the story.

Since our emergence as a species, we have always been on the move, and there has always been a reason: listening to the stories of the people who did it helps us have a broader perspective on those reasons.

We make assumptions about things we don’t know, we label people and reject others without knowing who they are. Instead of making erroneous predictions, both for good and for bad, about our neighbors, the theatrical idea is to bring together different testimonies from very different countries to understand that we are not so different, that love, hope, suffering, and death make us equal.