Referenews

Nothing like coming home.

Houston continues to make the World’s Best Cities Report, ranking 42 out of 100 in the world this year. Only 25 U.S. cities made the cut. The report cites Houston as “one of America’s most ethnically diverse big cities, with more than 145 languages spoken.”

MORE FROM JOY SEWING: Santa should be whatever ethnicity a child wants him to be

It was a packed year, with so much culture to cover, so here are 10 stories that focused on the rich culture and people of Houston in 2022:

Lauren Anderson’s life as the first Black prima ballerina for the Houston Ballet was beautifully told in Stages’ premiere of “Plumshuga: The Rise of Lauren Anderson.” It was written by Houston poet laureate Deborah D.E.E.P Mouton and co-directed by Mouton and Eboni Bell Darcy.

Mouton’s “choreopoem” didn’t sugarcoat. Instead, it delved into Anderson’s tumultuous relationships, drug addiction and self-esteem issues. It was an uncomfortable story for those with fantasies of how perfect ballerinas should be. “Plumshuga” is Anderson’s truth of resiliency and survival. “I know the lesson is don’t quit before the miracle,” she said. 

As Confederate signs and statues have been toppled nationwide as racist symbols, a Missouri City couple sparked a movement when they petitioned to get their street name changed from Confederate Drive to Prosperity Drive.

On a Sunday afternoon in February, Rhonda and Beau Gilbo, along with elected officials and neighbors, gathered under the street sign in the quiet suburban neighborhood to celebrate. It was the first street in Missouri City officially to be changed. By year’s end, two more street names were changed. 

Shana Ross, a celebrated Houston fitness trainer, was adopted in 1959 as an infant by a white family and raised as an only child in a small conservative East Texas town. She only learned about her Native roots in 2016 after taking a DNA test. She shared her story of belonging in a new memoir, “Tribeless: Discovering the Truth About Nature vs. Nurture as One Woman Finds Her Birth Mother” (Difference Press).

Her story was timely, as the Supreme Court heard arguments against the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978, which was established in response to the practice of separating Native children from their parents, extended families and communities through adoption or foster placement, usually in non-Native homes.

“I belong to a bigger tribe now,” Ross said. “But in so many ways, I still feel like I’m walking between two worlds. I never really fit where I grew up. I’m trying to fit now where I belong.” 

When former KPRC-TV Channel 2 anchor Dominique Sachse left TV after nearly 30 years in 2021, she teased about a book that she had been writing since 2018. Sachse is a Houston institution, and in April, she released “Life Makeover: Embrace the Bold, Beautiful and Blessed You” (HarperCollins), which quickly became a bestseller on the USA Today list.

Her book’s theme is that self-care is not selfish. “You have to make time to discover or rediscover who it is you really are and what you want to do and be in life,” she said. 

Tony Diaz has never let go of that fight to be seen and heard. His Nuestra Palabra organization was Houston’s first reading series for Latino authors, and Diaz was also the first Latino to earn a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Houston Creative Writing Program.

In October, he celebrated the legacy of Nuestra Palabra at the Alley Theatre with a free event to commemorate Hispanic Heritage Month. Diaz, who is called El Librotraficante or the “book smuggler,” also released his latest book, “The Tip of the Pyramid: Cultivating Community Cultural Capital,” urging more people to fight the recent wave of book bans and use their voices to speak out against disparities.

The work of celebrated artist Jean-Michel Basquiat had never been shown at a historically Black college or university. In December, “Our Friend, Jean,” an exhibit of his early works, came to the University Museum at Texas Southern University as part of a nationwide tour of six HBCUs. TSU was the final stop on the tour.

The beauty of this exhibit was that students and art admirers had a rare look into the life of one of the nation’s most celebrated artists, who was Black. It also helped connect the dots between Basquiat’s Neo-expressionism style and the indelible influence he made on pop culture and fashion. 

Houston Chronicle writer Sam González Kelly and photographer Yi-Chin Lee explored the original Chinatown, now called EaDo, that only hints of its Chinese American history, with abandoned buildings and Asian architectural motifs. The neighborhood has “lost its charm,” say Chinese Americans who recalled the bustling cultural center of their youth.

With the $9 billion Interstate 45 project, the few final remnants of the original Chinatown soon could be erased.

The Houston area is known for many things, but an olive farm isn’t one of them. Not until Houston comedian Mo Amer’s Netflix show, “Mo,” this year, which shows Amer visiting a sprawling farm for some tasty olives.

The Southeast Texas Olive Co. is about 50 miles from Houston and was started in 2009 by an Italian petroleum engineer. The award-winning olive oils are sold around Texas, including at the Spec’s downtown. Amer’s show is also an ode to all things Houston. 

Drag queens have reigned in headlines in the last year, as conservative forces have protested their shows, performances and even existence. A drag show called “Draggieland” at Texas A&M University became the center of a fight of wills, after the university in August pulled sponsorship and funding. LGBT student groups raised enough money to put on the event themselves.

Then in September, a Katy church hosted a drag bingo event to raise money for a program that provides clothes for youth who are transitioning genders. More than 100 people exchanged insults for hours outside of the church, with protesters saying it was wrong for adults to expose their children to drag queens. Others believed it was important to create a safe space.

We all need more feel-good stories like the one about viral street performer Dimitri Reeves, who works on Houston street corners many afternoon.

González Kelly and photographer Mark Mulligan captured Reeves while he moonwalked through busy intersections, lip-syncing to Michael Jackson tunes. He regularly wears a sequined jacket, white socks and black loafers. He might be in Katy one day and Sunnyside the next. Reeves started his career in Baltimore, going viral in 2015 with a video of him dancing to “Man in the Mirror,” while residents protested the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old Black man who died at the hands of Baltimore police.

Reeves’ mission is to spread positivity. “The world is not evil, people are just scared and hurt,” Reeves said. “Whatever you put out, you get back, so (you have to) be careful how you treat other people.”

It’s good advice for 2023.

joy.sewing@chron.com