Texas – Culture and nature

Texas – Culture and nature

General Overview

The second most populous and the second largest state in the United States of America, Texas remains one of the most fascinating regions in the world. Texas has been under the influence of several nations during its history: French, Spanish, Mexican, the Republic of Texas and the United States of America. Despite of these circumstantial historical facts, Texas still remain unique and, in a way, independent. Its name derives from "Tejas” meaning friends in Caddo language. The capital of Texas is the beautiful and famous Austin. The information and technology sectors are most important to the economy of the city and many Silicon Valley companies have their headquarters in Austin. Among the major companies operating in this area are: Dell, IBM, Apple Computer, AMD, Intel, Samsung and Sun Microsystems.

Landscapes of Texas

The immensity of the Texan nature is briefly described by the famous expression “everything is bigger in Texas". Development of cattle industry in Texas is solely responsible for the worldwide association of Texas with the image of cowboys. Arid landscapes resembling both Deep South and South West give Texas a diverse natural beauty. There is nothing nature could bring more to the Texan landscape: cross wood trees, oak and pine forests, undulating prairies and plains, hills and as a big surprise, the Big Bend dessert.

Music, dance, culture … Texas

The dynamism of Texan culture manifests itself through the events and festivals throughout the year. Sports events like the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo represent occasions to organize concerts that attract tens of thousands of spectators and which are real cultural events. The most famous festival is, however, the State Fair of Texas in Dallas, which in 2002 attracted over three million visitors. Since 1886 this festival is held annually from late September to mid October. Texas cuisine is similar to that of the southern United States. Soul food is the traditional cuisine of African-American community, usually accompanied by rice, steak and hot sauce. Cajun was brought French immigrants in the eastern part of the State. In Houston, major museums are located in the Museum District, founded in 1997, registering an annual average of 5.9 million visitors (as of 2001). Among the many cultural locations here, the Museum of Fine Arts is the largest in the southern United States and attracts around 2.5 million visitors a year. The Museum of Natural Sciences is visited by about two million tourists every year and has approximately one million exhibits and various collections (minerals, fossils, Egyptian and pre-Columbian artifacts, astronomy related items, stuffed animals and local African items). Music has been always representative for Texas and has inspired bands and music trends all over the country and worldwide. From heavy metal Pantera group, to Vanilla Ice rap singer and to blues singer Janis Joplin, they have all been once residents of Texas. The Houston Theater District is the second as regarding the number of available seats, situates just one step behind from Broadway (New York). There are nearly 13,000 seats for opera performances, dance, music while theater that attracts over two million spectators each year

3'>Rho� [ s a � @& ascinating mixture of ancestral European cultures: Italian, English, Portuguese, Irish, French and so on. This fact can be easily observed judging by the architectural diversity of the buildings. However, Rhode Island locals are also known as the creators of stone-ender architecture stile. European influences may be found in Rhode Island’s traditional or classic foods: French inspired snail salads, Portuguese linguiça or Italian Pizza Strips. This cultural mixture is used as a pretext for organizing different feasts and events such as: Newport Winter Festival, Newport Irish Heritage Month or Rhode Island International Film Festival. Newport remains as one of the most popular film locations in Rhode Island as it was chosen for shootings films like: The Great Gatsby or High Society (with protagonist Frank Sinatra). Block Island Southeast Light, built in Victorian gothic style is situated in Block Island and remains as a historical memory of the 19th century. National Museum of American Illustration can be visited in Newport where artwork from 1865 to 1945 is exposed. Skilled yacht manufacturers, the locals of Bristol have founded Herreshoff Marine Museum where among the exhibits there is Doris, the largest wooden sailing yacht built by Herreshoff company.