By Michael Kahn
HOUSTON, June 22 (Reuters) – World Cup fever has a distinctly international flavour for residents in Houston, where an estimated third of the population was born outside the United States and some 145 languages are spoken in one of the country’s most diverse cities.
The fourth-largest U.S. city has dialled up full party mode for this year’s tournament whether in the city’s sprawling downtown fan festival or at packed bars and restaurants across town with supporters roaring their teams on.
“We’ve been to the fan festival in East Downtown and it’s been a fantastic experience to see all cultures kind of mesh and have a great time together and celebrate the sport and celebrate humanity as a whole,” said Frank Haces, 27, who watched a recent match with his family who travelled to see him from Mexico.
The sheer number of green jerseys at restaurants, bars, supermarkets and pretty much everywhere else when “El Tri” play underlines the country’s significant representation in Houston, where people with Mexican heritage make up about a third of the population.
The Houston fan festival has also jumped into the action with entertainment ranging from Tejano to Bollywood performers, said its director Patti Smith, who added local fans from a wide range of nations converge to watch their teams on the big screen.
For a recent Egypt match, organisers provided a prayer room and foot-washing area for local Muslim supporters who came to watch on the giant screen, said Smith, who estimated as many as 20,000 people were attending the festival daily.
“The cultures are all coming out and it’s every single night,” she told Reuters. “We see when it’s the Turkish, the Iranians or whoever is playing. People from the community are coming out in droves.”
Houston’s job market, fuelled by the energy business and medical sector along with its affordability and proximity to Latin America, explain both the large Latino population and why others from across the globe have settled here.
Thirty-five-year-old South Korean Sae Yang said sharing differing celebrations and customs makes the World Cup in Houston special for him while Canadian Saige Antoine looks forward to meeting new people like her from other places.
“I remember like the first few days of it was huge,” Antoine said. “It was going crazy. People just want to like show off the flags, their accessories, anything to support the culture and what we have here.”
Texas also boasts the largest Czech American population in the United States with Houston residents Derrick Junek and his wife Jaylen pledging to honour their heritage in a way befitting a nation that drinks the most beer per capita in the world.
“I’ll drink some Pilsner beer to celebrate,” Derrick Junek said.
(Reporting by Michael Kahn, Editing by Christian Radnedge)
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