The Texas Nauryz: Two thousand Kazakhs performed Kara Zhorga in Huston

In the central park of the city, a grandiose etho festival was organized, BNews.kz correspondent reports. As the Kazakh said, a former TV journalist of the Pavlodar TV channel “Irbis” Gaukhar Sembaeva, who moved to the USA ten years ago, about two thousand our compatriots live in Huston. However, not only they celebrate the holiday of Nauryz.

“Each year, the people who moved to America from the Turkic states such as Turkey, Bosnia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan celebrate it. In one of the central parks of the city, representatives of each country install tents, where Americans can taste national dishes. This time, Kyrgyz people installed a yurt, Uzbeks cooked pilaf, Bosnians baked mutton, Kazakhs prepared dumplings, baursaks and Nauryz soup,” said Gaukhar Sembaeva.

She noted that once moved from the native land far away, many people begin to value national traditions and customs even greater. For example, playing in the dombra is in demand among the diaspora. The Sunday Kazakh school of Huston “Shanyrak” is attended by about 20 children. They study the Kazakh language, national kyus (compositions) and dances.

A teacher Asel Uteulieva has been teaching children to play the dombra for more than three years.

“When I lived in Kazakhstan, I used to attend the musical school, and now I teach children. They learn accords very fast. Be the way, children have a great wish to play the dombra. In the Kazakh school of Huston, they learn kuys with pleasure. We have the most famous compositions: Erkemay, Kamazhay and so on.

In Huston, there are many of those who want to take lessons of the dombra, rather than the number of instruments. There is a shortage of dombra in Huston,” said Asel.  

On this day, students of the Shanyrak school performed on the stage, but Americans were struck by the flashmob, where the Kazakh diaspora jointly with Americans performed the national dance of Kara Zhorga.  

Raushan Mukhametzhanova’s family won “a green card” to live in the USA in the lottery.

“It is the third time our family celebrates Nauryz in Huston. Each time, we watch brilliant concert performances, colourful costumes, national cuisines of the Turkic nations. At the festival, we meet our old friends, find new ones. We maintain the interest of our children to the national traditions. Each year, Nauryz becomes more international, more and more Americans know about our culture, country,” Raushan Mukhametzhanova said.