Part 1: Sampling Las Vegas’ cultural diversity through music, art and food

By Andrea Domanick

Sunday, Aug. 10, 2014 | 2:01 a.m.

With more than 200 languages spoken and almost 100 countries represented, Southern Nevada has become a melting pot as diverse and colorful as the Strip skyline at night.

Twenty-two percent of our almost 2 million residents hail from a foreign country, and hundreds of cultures are represented here.

The cultural mosaic is celebrated with dozens of local festivals that showcase the traditions, customs and cuisine of diverse communities from Southern Nevada and around the world. Here’s a taste of what our community offers ...

GERMAN

European settlers came to Southern Nevada in the 16th century. Spanish explorers came first, followed in the 1800s by French and British immigrants who set up ranches and farms. Union Pacific Railroad’s expansion into the West in the early 1900s brought many more Europeans, including a good number of Germans.

Some found success up north brewing beer in Carson City and Virginia City, but more were drawn to mining and cattle ranching down south. German engineers and entrepreneurs Philipp Deidesheimer, Herman Schussler and Adolph Sutro, for example, were instrumental in the history of the Comstock Mining District, home to the first major discovery of silver ore in the United States and the heart of Nevada’s mining boom.

Clark County’s German population spiked again after World Wars I and II because of American servicemen who married German women. Others came seeking opportunity in the burgeoning hospitality industry.

Many of the immigrants guarded their heritage, anglicizing their names and working to assimilate quickly because of the anti-German sentiment of the era. Still, many found business and political success here.

Las Vegas’ first mayor, Peter Buol, was the son of German-Swiss immigrants. German-born Frank and Martha Matzdorf, who arrived in Las Vegas in 1905 in a mule-drawn cart, opened the city’s first hotel and restaurant. Banker Cyril S. Wengert, the son of a German immigrant, served as manager of Southern Nevada utility companies and helped oversee much of Las Vegas’ early development.

More recently, Germans Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn became icons of Las Vegas entertainment, while German-born Pat Mulroy, former head of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, has been instrumental in managing the city’s water supply.

Today, the city remains a draw for Germans working in the hospitality industry, and Clark County’s German community is thought to exceed 45,000.

Germanicvm XL 2014

Created by German Honorary Consul to Nevada Andreas R. Adrian, this four-day festival — the first of its kind in Las Vegas ­— will feature a series of concerts at the House of Blues showcasing German musicians and composers. The event also includes afterparties, meet-and-greets, celebrity appearances and guest speakers.

The goal is to spark renewed interest in German culture. Organizers also hope to reap economic benefits by promoting German trade and tourism.

Proceeds will go toward establishing a permanent location for Las Vegas’ first German Saturday school, launched last year with the German-American School Association of Southern California. The school offers German language and cultural classes for children as young as 3 and adults.

Sept. 3-7. Most of the concerts start at 8 p.m. A musical grand finale will begin at 7 p.m. Sept. 6 and a closing brunch at 10 a.m. Sept. 7.

Admission: $35-$85 for concert tickets.

Also: Hofbrauhaus Oktoberfest from Sept. 13 through October; Las Vegas Oktoberfest on Oct. 5 downtown.

HISPANIC

Hispanics have played a formative role in Las Vegas’ history. Mexican migrants helped lay down track for the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad. Mexican scout Raphael Rivera, for whom many Las Vegas landmarks are named, was the first non-Native American to set foot in the Las Vegas Valley.

Driven north by the Mexican Revolution, Mexican migrants continued to put down roots in Las Vegas. The city’s first recorded Mexican Independence Day was held in 1914 at the Union Hotel and drew attendees from across the region.

Even so, Southern Nevada’s Hispanic population remained relatively small until the 1980s, when the collapse of the Mexican economy drove immigrants to Nevada en masse, pushing Clark County’s Hispanic population from 350 in 1950 to 35,000 in 1980. Conflict in El Salvador and Cuba grew the communities further.

Today, Hispanics make up 29 percent of Clark County’s population. While the majority hail from Mexico (21.7 percent), Cuba (1.1 percent) and Puerto Rico (0.9 percent), cultures from 21 Hispanic and Latin American countries are represented.

Fiesta Las Vegas

Fiesta Las Vegas celebrates the 21 countries represented by Clark County’s Hispanic community.

The gathering began in 2011 as a platform for each community to share its customs and as a way to enhance cultural recognition in the valley.

This year’s event, which is expected to draw more than 20,000 people, expands to two days and includes a parade and a festival featuring live music, dancing, folklore, cultural booths, children’s activities, a beauty pageant and lots of food.

Parade: 10 a.m. to noon Sept. 13, Fourth Street between Gass and Stewart avenues, Las Vegas.

Festival: noon to 10 p.m. Sept. 14, Clark County Amphitheater, 500 S. Grand Central Parkway, Las Vegas.

Also: Hispanic International Day Parade on Oct. 4 in Henderson; Celebrando Hispanic Festival.

ASIAN

At least seven countries are represented by Las Vegas’ East Asian population. The Chinese community is by far the largest, with more than 24,600 residents in Clark County, followed by Koreans (12,300) and Japanese (9,000).

The first wave of Chinese migrants arrived in Nevada in the second half of the 19th century during construction of the transcontinental railroad. The workers also helped build towns across the state before moving en masse to California.

The population didn’t grow again until after 1965, when large numbers of Chinese immigrants came to Las Vegas to find food service and dealer jobs in the burgeoning casino industry. By the 1990s, the Chinese population had grown by almost 250 percent, to 15,000. Chinatown in Spring Valley debuted in 1995 to cater both to Chinese tourists and locals.

Today, Las Vegas’ Chinese community has Chinese-language newspapers, schools and chambers of commerce, the latter of which tout a membership of almost 400.

Asian Heritage Celebration

Previously known as the Asian Harvest Moon Festival for the autumnal equinox observed in China and Vietnam, the event has expanded to represent all Asian heritage. The festival will feature Japanese taiko drumming, Chinese lion dances, a children’s lantern parade, karaoke and origami.

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 27

Springs Preserve, 333 S. Valley View Blvd., Las Vegas, 702-822-7700

Also: Chinese New Year Celebration at Chinatown Plaza in February 2015.

AFRICAN-AMERICAN

Blacks have played an integral role in the history of Las Vegas. New Yorker John Howell bought the 320-acre Spring Rancho farm in 1872 and was the region’s first black rancher and landowner.

Though modest in size, Las Vegas’ black community quickly established itself, setting up businesses, churches and chapters of the NAACP and Colored Citizens Protective Association. Both were instrumental in getting black workers jobs building the Hoover Dam.

Population numbers spiked during the Great Migration from the Deep South. The 1943 opening of the Basic Magnesium Inc. plant in Henderson drew African-Americans from around the country in search of work.

By 1955, Las Vegas’ black community quintupled to more than 15,000, 10 percent of the city’s population. Las Vegas welcomed its first black doctor and introduced a black society newspaper column.

But the city was divided. Henderson had several black neighborhoods, including the segregated Carver Park. Much of Las Vegas’ black community was forced to live in the segregated Westside, across the railroad tracks from Fremont Street.

While black workers helped make Las Vegas’ new resorts run, they remained invisible to guests, relegated to back-of-the-house jobs and forbidden to own or sell property beyond the Westside. Blacks weren’t allowed to gamble, attend shows or stay in the hotels where they worked. Even performers Dinah Washington, Lena Horne and Sammy Davis Jr. were made to “leave through the kitchen with the garbage,” Davis once said.

That began to change in May 1955, when Las Vegas’ first integrated resort, the Moulin Rouge, co-owned by boxer Joe Louis, opened. Though the hotel-casino lasted less than a year, it provided blacks with higher-profile, better-paying jobs and a space for performers to present their shows late at night.

By early 1960, African-American entertainers began refusing to perform at segregated venues, and Dr. James McMillan, president of the Las Vegas chapter of the NAACP, threatened a citywide protest unless officials desegregated the city. On March 25, 1960, a day before the planned protest, NAACP members met with city officials in a meeting mediated by Las Vegas Sun founder Hank Greenspun and hashed out an agreement abolishing Jim Crow restrictions and desegregating the Strip.

Still, a decade passed before the complete desegregation of housing, schools and jobs.

Taste and Sounds of Soul Festival

In its 13th year, the soul festival is one of the state’s longest-running celebrations of Black History Month and Nevada’s African-American community. Traditionally held on Fremont Street, it draws thousands of locals and tourists.

February 2015, dates TBD

HAWAIIAN

They don’t call Las Vegas “the Ninth Island” for nothing. Close to 14,000 Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders call Southern Nevada home. Hawaii itself has fewer than 1.3 million residents.

What’s the draw? The two locales have more in common than their terrains might let on. With tourism the top industry in Hawaii, Las Vegas is a natural fit for Islanders already well-versed in hospitality.

Casino mogul Sam Boyd first reached out to the Hawaiian market in 1975 when he opened the California, tapping into Islanders’ fondness for gambling, which was legal in Oahu before World War II. Inexpensive flights and the flavors of home kept Hawaiian tourists flocking to town for years. Many decided to stay when Hawaii’s economy sputtered in the 1990s while Las Vegas’ thrived.

Today, Islander culture is becoming increasingly synonymous with the city, with almost 50 restaurants across the valley run by or catering to Hawaiians. Hawaiian retail shops such as Aloha2Go and ABC Stores abound, while cultural organizations and events such as the Ewalu Club at UNLV, the Las Vegas Hawaiian Civic Club and the Pure Aloha Festival, set for Oct. 3-5 at the Rio, help preserve and promote Hawaiian heritage.

Prince Jonah Kuhio Ho’olaule’a Pacific Islands Festival

The Las Vegas Hawaiian Civic Club will celebrate its 25th anniversary this year with the Kuhio Ho’olaule’a, which celebrates the history and culture of Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders.

This year’s theme is “9th Island Hawaiian Cowboy Paniolo Roundup,” a celebration of Hawaiian cowboy culture. It will include a cultural village with hulu feather crafts, Hawaiian quilt making, horticulture and lei making. The event also offers live entertainment, crafts, a petting zoo, a job fair and a selection of Polynesian food. 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sept. 13; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sept. 14.

Henderson Events Plaza, 200 S. Water St., Henderson.

Admission: Free

Also: Kumu Kahi Ukulele and Hula Festival was Aug. 8-9 at Sam’s Town; Las Vegas Pure Aloha Festival, Oct. 3–5 at the Rio.