Spinoff- Is there an Ecuadorian Community in Houston

[greenerpastures79]

Originally Posted by jimboburnsy

I didn't realize that the diversity of a city was dependent upon the selection of eateries. Don't you think the impetus is on the immigrant community to open up a restaurant?

Amen !
I'm ecuadorian too but born & raised in NY, and my family was one of the earliest ecuadorian immigrants to the States (early 60s) before the influx that came in the 80s & 90s. We were definitely few in numbers back then, but I grew up in a greek/italian/irish/jewish neighborhood with some "misc" latins here and there. My family are of spanish & italian descent anyway, so we fit right in with the other mediterranean ethnicities in our neighborhood. We moved to Houston almost 30 years ago, and let me tell you, there was far less diversity in Houston back then (which isn't a bad thing either, and there were indeed some immigrants of several persuasions even back then). I've been in Houston on and off since then, and have recently moved back here due to family reasons since 7 years ago. Houston is one of the MOST diverse cities in this country--yes, up there with NY & LA. Practically every foreign nationality is represented here, in varying degrees, including hispanic-americans of EVERY latin-american country. Just because there are no ecuadorian or paraguayan or uruguayan restaurant in Houston doesn't mean there aren't ecuadorians, paraguayans, and uruguayans residing here (which there are, albeit in relative few numbers). To suggest that Houston is mainly a "white-black-mexican" city with some asians, or to question this city's grand diversity just because there are no ecuadorian restaurants is narrow-minded at best and ignorant at worst . I'm not a huge fan of Houston, there are many other places I'd prefer living in, but let's give credit where credit is due. I've gone out and about with friends of different nationalities or ethnicities as well as with anglo-americans, and I have met, in the process, persons from many places in latin america, including Ecuador. You have to understand that the vast majority of hispanics in this country (especially here in the Western US) are of mexican decent, and this is especially the case in Houston. But there is also now (probably since the 90s) a great colony of central american hispanics here (salvadorians, hondurans, guatemalans, panamanians, etc), followed probably by south american hispanics and then by hispanic-caribbeans (puerto ricans, dominicans, cubans). Yes, i haven't only met a few other ecuadorians, but also paraguayans (married to colombians or venezuelans) and several uruguayans, chileans, and argentinians (and mind you, all not related to each other). Aside from hispanic-americans of all nationalities represented here, one can find persons of practically every nation on Earth, including from all the african countries, the middle and far East, the islands of the Pacific, Canada, and, of course, Europe. Even Mongs, Tutsis, & Hutus are living here as well as armenians, persians, bhutanese, latvians, belizians, haitians, rwandans, croatians...well, you should by now get the picture...
Please; to say Houston isn't as diverse as perhaps the original cities of diversity is to be blind--just go to Houston's NW, West, & SW; to suggest that each one of those nationalities needs to open a restaurant to make Houston "a really diverse city" is to be ridiculous. But let someone from each nationality represented do so--would be nice too!
Now I feel like some chilean meat empanadas--yum--and I know just where to get them...
Ciao!

[Weatherguy]

Originally Posted by 7swans

You can find many restaurants in Houston - Mexican, Colombia, Cuban, Asian, etc.....all ranging from cheap to extremely expensive. The majority of the South American places that I have found are in the West/Southwest area of town. Good luck and good eating!

Finally, an intelligent post.

[Weatherguy]

Originally Posted by greenerpastures79

Amen !
I'm ecuadorian too but born & raised in NY, and my family was one of the earliest ecuadorian immigrants to the States (early 60s) before the influx that came in the 80s & 90s. We were definitely few in numbers back then, but I grew up in a greek/italian/irish/jewish neighborhood with some "misc" latins here and there. My family are of spanish & italian descent anyway, so we fit right in with the other mediterranean ethnicities in our neighborhood. We moved to Houston almost 30 years ago, and let me tell you, there was far less diversity in Houston back then (which isn't a bad thing either, and there were indeed some immigrants of several persuasions even back then). I've been in Houston on and off since then, and have recently moved back here due to family reasons since 7 years ago. Houston is one of the MOST diverse cities in this country--yes, up there with NY & LA. Practically every foreign nationality is represented here, in varying degrees, including hispanic-americans of EVERY latin-american country. Just because there are no ecuadorian or paraguayan or uruguayan restaurant in Houston doesn't mean there aren't ecuadorians, paraguayans, and uruguayans residing here (which there are, albeit in relative few numbers). To suggest that Houston is mainly a "white-black-mexican" city with some asians, or to question this city's grand diversity just because there are no ecuadorian restaurants is narrow-minded at best and ignorant at worst . I'm not a huge fan of Houston, there are many other places I'd prefer living in, but let's give credit where credit is due. I've gone out and about with friends of different nationalities or ethnicities as well as with anglo-americans, and I have met, in the process, persons from many places in latin america, including Ecuador. You have to understand that the vast majority of hispanics in this country (especially here in the Western US) are of mexican decent, and this is especially the case in Houston. But there is also now (probably since the 90s) a great colony of central american hispanics here (salvadorians, hondurans, guatemalans, panamanians, etc), followed probably by south american hispanics and then by hispanic-caribbeans (puerto ricans, dominicans, cubans). Yes, i haven't only met a few other ecuadorians, but also paraguayans (married to colombians or venezuelans) and several uruguayans, chileans, and argentinians (and mind you, all not related to each other). Aside from hispanic-americans of all nationalities represented here, one can find persons of practically every nation on Earth, including from all the african countries, the middle and far East, the islands of the Pacific, Canada, and, of course, Europe. Even Mongs, Tutsis, & Hutus are living here as well as armenians, persians, bhutanese, latvians, belizians, haitians, rwandans, croatians...well, you should by now get the picture...
Please; to say Houston isn't as diverse as perhaps the original cities of diversity is to be blind--just go to Houston's NW, West, & SW; to suggest that each one of those nationalities needs to open a restaurant to make Houston "a really diverse city" is to be ridiculous. But let someone from each nationality represented do so--would be nice too!
Now I feel like some chilean meat empanadas--yum--and I know just where to get them...
Ciao!

Thanks for the very informative post. Funny how there are so many naive forumers, not only on this topic, but others as well.

[MelismaticEchoes]

Originally Posted by diablo234

Minneapolis surprisingly has a sizable Ecuadorian community as well. Anyways while Houston is relatively diverse I don't think there is a large enough concentration of Ecuadorians here to necessitate a restaurant catering to Ecuadorian cuisine. Most of the hispanics in Houston are Mexican/Central American with a few Colombians, Venezuelans, and Argentineans as well.

Houston has a sizable amount of Panamanians.

There are some Hondurans in Houston too.

Ecuadorians are growing in Houston.