With nearly half of Houston’s population identified as Hispanic or Latino in the U.S. Census, here’s an explainer on how we choose between the different terms in our reporting.
Danya Pérez / Staff writer
Danya Pérez is a diverse communities reporter for the Houston Landing. She returned to Houston after leaving two years ago to work for the San Antonio Express-News, where she reported on K-12 and higher education. Prior to that, Danya was a digital producer at the Houston Chronicle, where she worked on community engagement efforts by developing and writing daily newsletters. She previously spent 4 ½ years covering education at the Monitor newspaper in the Rio Grande Valley. Danya lived most of her childhood in Mexico before migrating with her family to their second home in El Paso. She is a proud University of Texas at El Paso graduate (Picks up!). When she's not writing about our communities, she might be found taking her loyal travel companion, Wakko, a 16-year-old Schnauzer, for slow walks at his favorite spots along Buffalo Bayou.
Posted inDiverse Communities
Houston leaders propose turning the city into ‘citizenship capital’ with naturalization efforts
A consortium of entities launches an effort to naturalize 300,000 Houston residents in the next three years
Posted inDiverse Communities
In Houston schools, mariachi programs help students find cultural connections
Young musicians in these programs gain both musical experience and a connection to a cultural identity they may not have always gotten to embrace.
Posted inDiverse Communities
Houston has never had a Latino mayor. Are voters close to electing the first this year?
In a city where 44.5 percent of its residents – more than one million people – are Hispanic or Latino, why has there never been a Latino mayor?
Posted inDiverse Communities
What are the hottest jobs in Houston? Why some workers can’t escape the summer heat
Many Houstonians are doing what they can to avoid the heat. But for some people, working with the heat is their job.
Posted inDiverse Communities
Pride Houston hopes to move past fraud allegations against former leader
Pride Houston 365’s leaders have struggled to keep the organization afloat amid the pandemic and an ongoing lawsuit they filed against their first executive director, who was fired in 2021.
Posted inPublic Safety
Chemical Safety Board faults Watson Grinding in deadly 2020 Houston explosion
A federal investigation found that a lack of safety protocols at Watson Grinding led to the massive explosion that killed three people and damaged hundreds of nearby homes in January 2020.
Posted inDiverse Communities
Celebrating Pride required ‘an extra level of bravery’ this year, Houstonians say
Pride month in Texas felt different from previous years for Houstonians struggling to combat the rise in hateful rhetoric and anti-LGBTQ state legislation.
Posted inDiverse Communities
‘Just feels like home’: Houston Pride Parade delivers an evening to remember
Revelers crowded into downtown Houston for the 45th-annual event, which was more subdued this year after a scorching experience in 2022.
Posted inDiverse Communities
$1 million in grant money aims to keep 50 Houston artists of color afloat
The notes emanating out of two violins, two violas and two cellos were not always meant to soothe. Houston composer J.E. Hernández wanted chaos, a “ferocious sound,” as if the chords were about to snap. A breaking point. After spending 60 days in an immigration detention center in his early 20s, Hernández couldn’t help but […]