Cultural Identity

From Texas to the Peruvian Amazon, a UT Researcher Preserves a Dying Language

byMichael Nolan

Nestled deep in the Amazon basin, a makeshift house sits alongside a rustic nut storage facility. Two of the occupants of this house in Peru’s remote Madre de Dios District might be the last chance of survival for the endangered language Iñapari. 
Meanwhile, over 3,000 miles away, a doctoral student is huddled over his laptop at the University of Texas at Austin. Barrett Hamp, a UT doctoral student in linguistics, has dedicated his research since 2019 to recording the indigenous language in Peru to prevent it from disappearing.  “Once a language is gone, it’s gone.  There’s no reviving it,” Hamp said.

Omitting ‘Rare’ When Ordering A Medium Rare Burger

byAmber Williams

As a child Juan Samuel Reyes chose to remain silent even when he had something to say. But now Reyes is one of several students who stutter at the University of Texas at Austin learning to communicate effectively while accepting their stutter through practice, community and advocacy. “I’m in the process of becoming more comfortable […]

In Spite of Critics, Sweetwater’s Rattlesnake Roundup Draws Huge Crowds

bySamantha Eisenmenger 

The Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup, first held in 1958, began as a rattlesnake hunt with the goal of controlling the snake population in this small northwest Texas town. The event is now billed as the largest rattlesnake roundup in the world.

Award-Winning Chef Edgar Rico’s Taqueria Is Giving Back, One Free Meal at a Time

byAna Paola Davila Chalita

Edgar Rico, chef and co-owner of the taqueria, hosts the biggest community fridge in East Austin, a project born of the financial struggles of the COVID pandemic.

“Hundreds of people a day were coming to our door to ask for food,” recalled Rico, a second-generation Mexican chef who recently appeared on Time magazine’s “100 Next 2022” list of influential people. 

In June, Rico won a James Beard Award — the so-called “Oscars of the food world” — as best emerging chef, and his restaurant continues to appear on “best of” lists. That success traces to his love of the culture of his parents’ home country and a desire to inspire and help others through food, both through his restaurant and through the community fridge it stocks.